Face Down
by Sadistic-X-Masochistic
Summary: It started off with the occasional shove, but soon grew into a vicious cycle of pain and torment. Gaara can't take the beatings anymore, and Sasuke is jealous of his close friendship with Rock Lee. How does he deal with his anger? With his fists of course... LeeGaa SasuGaa ABUSE
1. Instincts

**Face Down**

**Instincts**

God I loved him. I loved him so much. Fate could be so cruel and yet, I still had hope that Gaara and I could be together, even though he'd told me last year that he and his lover were engaged. That news broke my heart, but my love never dwindled. The marriage was three months time and I'd been invited. Could I grin and bear it? Pretend to be happy for him? I didn't know.

"Lee-san." Came a quiet voice behind me.

I turned, smiling; held the pain inside. "Gaara-kun! How are you on this youthful day?"

"I'm great. What about you?"

"Energetic. I have just finished my morning training."

"Don't you ever get tired?" He asked, folding his arms over his chest.

"Not when I have motivation!"  
"And what motivation would that be?"

"To become a ninja as great as my sensei!"

Gaara smirked and shook his head, then changed the subject. "I've not seen you in ages. How are your friends?"

"They are all fine. Have you missed me?"

"Course I have!" Gaara leant up to hug me and I wrapped my arms around him. My heart started to beat faster and my face flushed.

"I have something to tell you." He said softly. "Can we go to a restaurant or something? I'll pay for it."

"Of course. Where do you want to go?"

"You can choose."

"There is an Izakaya down the street. How about there?"

"Sure."

Once we arrived at the restaurant, we both ordered Yakitori to share and sake for me, water for Gaara.

"So, what do you have to tell me?" I asked as we waited for our food.

"W-Well, I am pregnant." He replied shakily.

"How? You are male!"

"Shush! Do you want the whole village to hear?"

"Sorry."

"Apparently, Shukaku can produce female eggs for me and he created a chakra womb inside me so I can carry children."

"That is great news! Have you told Sasuke-san?"

"Not yet. I'm scared he'll leave me... It might freak him out if I tell him. Don't you think?"

"Not if he loves you."

"I guess."

"So how far along are you?"

"About two weeks."

"How did you find out?"

"I was feeling a little weird and I thought I was coming down with a cold, but Shukaku told me it was something else. He suggested I see the doctor, so I went and the doctor told me to take a test. I did and found I was pregnant."

"Wow. I am happy for you. I really am!" I reached over the table and hugged him. He laughed a little and hugged me back.

About ten minutes later, our food came. Gaara ate three chicken skewers and so did I, but there was one more left. I passed it to Gaara. "You have it."

"I'm full."

"So am I."

"Then leave it."

"But it is a waste of food!"

"So?"

"I will break it in half."

"But I'm full."

I reached over and rubbed his cheek softly with my thumb. "You are so awkward Gaara-kun."

He blushed a little and held my hand to his face, a content look in his eyes. God, he was so adorable! I loved him so much!

"I-I think I'd better go now."

"Why so early?"

"Sasuke-sama will be wondering where I am."

Why was he addressing his fiance so formally? It didn't seem like it was out of plain respect. More like fear.

I felt a pang of disappointment. "At least let me walk you back."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course! And I will pay for the meal. Keep your money for yourself."

"Thank you Lee-san."

After paying, like I promised, I walked Gaara back. He was so sweet... so perfect in every way.

A thought suddenly occurred. "Oh shit! I spent my taxi money!" I cursed loudly.

Gaara stopped walking and stared up at me. He was still rather short for a twenty one year-old. "Here." He said, holding out his hand. "Take some of my money."

"It is fine. I can walk back."

"Do you want me to shove it some place where the sun doesn't shine? Take it."

I gulped and let him put the money in my hand. Feisty Gaara. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it. I'll see you another time, yes?"

"I'll drop by tomorrow to pay your money back."

"Seriously, don't trouble yourself. Bye." He gave me a hug before disappearing into his house.

000

Gaara POV

I walked into the house, trembling a little. What would Sasuke say about the pregnancy? Was he even ready for kids? So many thoughts like that were swimming around in my head, suffocating my confidence.

"Where have you been?" Came the cold voice I'd been dreading to hear.

"I needed some air." I replied softly, not wanting to provoke my fiance.

"Then who was that man you were walking with? You gave him money, did you not?" Sasuke turned, his icy glare sending shivers racing down my spine.

"He is my best friend. He ran out of taxi money so I lent him some."

"Really now?"

"Yes."

"Is this man more than a friend?"

"N-No! Of course not!"

"Liar. I saw you hug him. You're cheating on me."

"Sasuke-sama! It was just a friendly hug! I would neve-" I was cut off by a hard slap across the face.

"Slut! He's been fucking you! I know he has!"

"I haven't been cheating, Sasuke-san!"

He hit me again, this time with his fist. I started to cry and fell down, shaking like a leaf and holding my throbbing cheek.

"I can smell him on you! You don't taste the same anymore!" He carried on hitting me. The pain was unbearable and I couldn't take it anymore. "Please stop!" I wailed. "It hurts..."

"Like I give a shit if it fucking hurts or not." He growled, pushing me into the corner. His charcoal orbs held only fury and mercilessness. I felt blood running down the side of my face as he slammed me into the door.

I felt my body shake and prayed that this time... just this one time that my injuries wouldn't be too painful or severe as they had been previously; but as always, I was wrong. Sasuke picked up a chair, broke off its leg and began to beat me hard. He kept telling me who useless I was... Telling me this was going to get worse for me and how this time, after he'd finished that I'd never walk again. I swallowed hard, feeling my heart pumping so fiercely that I thought it'd burst out of my chest. "Gomenasai... Gomenasai..." I sobbed repeatedly.

"Sorry isn't good enough! Stand up straight, you whiny little girl!"

I didn't move and carried on crying.

Sasuke picked up the main body of the chair and threw it at me, hitting my ribs and cracking them. I screamed in pain and collapsed, cradling the side of my body.

"Is that enough, you little slut? Do you want any more?"

"P-Please... I'm s-sorry..."

My fiance approached me and ripped off my pants and underwear. My eyes widened. He was going to rape me. Just as that thought entered my mind, a scream escaped as something huge was forced inside my tight entrance.

"Ah! That hurts!"

"All the more reason to keep going then!" He grunted, pounding so intensely, it felt as if my body would rip in half. Blood trickled down steadily from between my legs and I shook from fear and pain. Soon, he came with an erotic moan, filling me right up with his hot, sticky white seed.

"That'll teach you." He muttered, stepping over me to stomp up the stairs. I lay on the floor, sobbing my eyes out. Everything burned. My heart was hurting and I couldn't hold back the heavy flow of tears. Trying to salvage what little dignity I had left, I put my torn pants back on and tried to get up, but I couldn't since the pain was so bad. For the rest of the night, I merely lay there, wide awake and feeling like a prisoner in my own home. I just wanted Lee here... I wanted him to hold me in his arms, tell me that everything was okay. Despite living with Sasuke and being pregnant with his child, I no longer loved him. How could I if he treated me so badly? He'd been hitting me for about a year now. It started off with the occasional shove if we argued, but then it got more sinister and in the past few months, he started punching, kicking and even using knives on me. I'd been in hospital a few times too with serious injuries.

And I knew that nothing would change.

000

The next morning, I heard Sasuke get up. He stomped down the stairs and kicked me hard in the side. "You're in the way. Move!"

The pain was intense and I was weak from hunger. Sasuke didn't let me eat much.

He kicked me again harder. "I said get up! You stupid slut!"

"I-I can't..."

"Don't make excuses! I want you in that kitchen in two minutes or I'll break your neck!"

I used all the strength I possessed to push myself up, but even then, I fell.

_What perfect timing!_ I thought as Sasuke came up again. "What is it with you and fucking about? I'm hungry, you stupid bitch! Get up!"

"Sorry Sasuke-sama!"

"Sorry! That's all you ever say!" Sasuke pulled me up by hair, slamming me into the wall. I felt the vibrations run down my spine. I couldn't help it, it hurt so much that I let a tear roll down my soft face.

"Why are you crying?" Sasuke asked menacingly. He slapped me across the face, causing me to bite a chunk out of my lip.

"Remember, you deserved that."

"Y-Yes Sasuke-sama..." I staggered into the kitchen, my body protesting strongly. I trembled and fell to my knees, sobbing from the pain.

"What are you doing?" He dragged me to my feet and shoved me hard into the kitchen. "I am hungry! I want food on this table in five minutes!"

"H-Hai..." As quickly as I could manage, I prepared Sasuke's breakfast. My stomach growled loudly and I groaned. When was the last time Sasuke let me eat? Five days? Six? Of course I had the small meal yesterday with Lee, but now I had two people to feed. The baby and me. I'd lost a lot of weight in the past few months. As I set the food down front of him, I tugged on his arm.

"What?" He asked coldly, not looking up from his newspaper.

"P-Please can I eat?" I asked shakily in the sweetest voice I could manage.

"Stop giving me that look." He growled. "You will eat only when I tell you to."

"Gomen." I said, sitting down.

"Who said you could take a break? Have you nothing to do?"

"I d-don't think so."

"Then look for something to occupy yourself with. I'm not having you sitting here looking like a nervous wreck and staring at me."

"I have to tell you something."

"What is it now? Do you want to break up with me? That's not going to happen because if you walk out that door, I will hunt you down! You are mine, Gaara! If you-"

"I'm pregnant."

"What?"

"I'm pregnant. With your baby."

"Who else's baby would it be, stupid? I knew it! You are cheating!"

I bit my lip. God... I'd really done it this time.

Sasuke raised his fist to hit me.

"No! I'm not cheating! Please don't hurt me!"

He lowered his hand, glaring. "Once you have this baby, if it doesn't look anything like me, I will murder you."

"I assure you, I haven't had sex with anybody but you since we started dating."

"Good."

"Sasuke-sama... please let me eat. I have to because if I starve, the baby starves."

He let out a low growl. "Fine."

"Arigato." I kissed him on the cheek, feeling sick as I did so. I hated him so much that I wanted to kill him, rip out his throat.

Sasuke smirked. "C'mere you." He grabbed my arm and pulled me onto his lap where we made out; or more like he practically shoved his tongue down my throat. Once we pulled away, Sasuke buried his face in my neck and nibbled along my collarbone. "I love you so much, Gaara... Every inch of you."

"Mmmhh..." I let out a soft moan as he reached his hand underneath my pants and underwear. Immediately, I felt myself growing hard and let out a gasp. Sasuke pulled my pants right down and started to pump my dick, running his hand up and down the length. By now, I had a full-on throbbing erection that dripped with precum... Damn, I hadn't been this aroused in a long time. Whenever we had sex, Sasuke was usually rough with me and the climaxes were pretty weak. Sasuke lay me on the tiled floor and started to enter me. I hissed in pain, still sore from last night. He kept going, ignoring that I was in pain and started to hit my prostate. "Ah!" I moaned, seeing stars from the pleasure. He hit that special spot over and over again, pushing me right over the edge. I came hard all over our stomachs. Sasuke filled me up with his seed and pulled out, collapsing on the floor beside me. I rolled onto a cold spot on the floor, groaning softly. It felt so good against my burning skin. Didn't last long though.

"I'm going to take a shower. You need to clean up in here." Sasuke ordered, getting up slowly. He trudged up the stairs and I pulled my pants back on before setting to clean all the cum off the floor. Once that was done, I limped slowly out of the kitchen. The wooden floor in the hall was decorated with puddles of my own blood. It needed cleaning up fast in case we had any visitors. Another one of my tasks was to cover up my wounds and bruises with make-up and layers of clothing. I had to make sure my arms stayed out of view at all costs. Slowly, I began to clean up. It was shocking how much blood there was. Maybe I'd gotten so used to the beatings that I was immune to severe blood loss. Once that was done, Sasuke shouted me upstairs I hurried into our room and stood at his side. He was sitting on the bed, getting dressed.

"Yes?" I asked him.

"Let me cover up your wounds. You always do a terrible job of it."

"Hai." I followed him into the bathroom and he pulled out my jar of foundation from the medicine cabinet.

"Look, I'm sorry I lashed out at you last night." He sighed, proceeding to cover up the cuts and bruises on my face. Some of them were still sore and I tried so hard not to flinch. "It's fine."

"You just seem to disobey me sometimes."

"Mm..."

"Are you going to apologize?" He asked, stepping back to check the coverage was even.

"Gomenasai Sasuke-sama."

"That's better. Now how about you go and clean up the rest of the house?"

"Hai."

000

Lee POV

I knocked loudly on the front door of Sasuke and Gaara's house. There was a loud bang and a crash before the door finally opened. Sasuke stood there, his cold, onyx gaze burning into my eyes. "Yes?" He asked in his usual calm, stoic and monotone voice.

"Good morning Sasuke-san. Is Gaara-kun there?" I asked.

"Yes he is." The Uchiha replied, not budging from the spot.

He was starting to make me feel really uncomfortable. I fidgeted under his gaze. "May I see him?"

I heard light footsteps behind him. "Who is it Sasuke-sama?" Came Gaara's voice.

Sama... He used that word again! Did he think of his fiance as a superior to him?

"Rock Lee. He wants to see you."

"Let him in then!"

"No. You have five minutes. Talk out here" Sasuke moved aside and stalked into the lounge. Fear eased off as I saw Gaara at the door.

"Come in then. I don't want you standing out in the rain." Gaara said, pulling on my arm.

"But... Sasuke-san said-"  
"Oh don't listen to him. He's a grumpy-ass today."

Once I was in, he shut the door. "So what's up?"

"I am here to give you the money I owe."

"I told you not to pay me back!"

Sasuke came into the hall and wrapped his arms around Gaara's waist, then kissed his neck. "Money? For what?" Asked the Uchiha in a deep, seductive voice.

"Lee-san lost his taxi money, so I lent him some of my wages."

"Liar." Sasuke growled into his ear. Gaara shuddered.

I didn't like the way Uchiha held my best friend... Held him like was was owned. "It is true." I said, trying to defend him.

Gaara glared and shook his head.

"You're still here? Get out. You have no business with my fiancée."

"Actually, I do. We have been friends since we were as young as six! How long have you known him? You met when you were twelve, am I correct?"

"He is mine! Get out of my house!" Sasuke hissed. "Or do I have to remove you myself?"

Gaara pulled away from Sasuke and stood defensively in front of me.

"What's this? Would you rather be with that bowl-cut freak than me?"

Gaara said nothing and suddenly collapsed. I caught him before he hit the ground so he didn't injure himself. "Gaara-kun!"

The Uchiha immediately dropped to his knees beside him and held him in his arms.

"Sasuke-san, what's the matter with him? He's been acting so strange lately!"

"How should I know?" Sasuke hissed, shaking his lover. "Gaara, wake up, come on..."

The redhead opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He was trembling slightly. "W-What happened?"

"You just fainted. Come on, I'll put you in bed." Sasuke glared at me. "I believe I told you to leave. Put the damn money on the side table and get the fuck out of my sight!"

I swallowed hard, but stood my ground.

"Lee!" Gaara shouted. "Leave!"

I nodded, putting the money next to the telephone. "Uchiha-san, you had better not hurt him."

Gaara let out a gasp and there was a deafening silence. Sasuke's expression changed from anger to fury. I left the house quickly; without a backward glance. As I hurried down the street, my instincts told me to go back, but I ignored them, not wanting to get on the wrong side of somebody from the Uchiha family.


	2. Regrets

**Face Down**

**Chapter 2**

**Regrets**

Gaara POV

"You told Lee that I hit you?" Sasuke roared, punching me so hard across the face that I practically flew across the room.

"No! I swear I didn't! He saw the injuries!"

"Fucking stupid slut!" He screamed, kicking me.

I coughed up blood and held my arms in front of my body to protect the baby. No such luck. My fiance kicked me so hard that nothing could block it.

"Sasuke... you'll hurt the baby! Don't!"

He suddenly stopped and stared at me.

I looked right back at him, breathing hard.

Sasuke ran upstairs. He went into our room and slammed the door shut.

I shakily pushed myself up, but got an intense pain in my stomach, right where he'd kicked me. "Sasuke!" I yelled. No answer. "Oh god..." It hurt so bad... I couldn't breathe from the pain. "Nnnghh..."

My cell started ringing. Phone! Why didn't I think of it before? I could call my family to come and fetch me. I had to get away from Sasuke... The abuse was getting really bad now. I knew I'd end up dead soon. Just as I was about to answer the call, Sasuke was at my side immediately. He knocked the phone out my hand. "Don't you dare."

"Okay..."

"What is it you wanted? You shouted me didn't you?"

"I can't get up. My stomach is hurting."

He sighed and pulled me to my feet, but I doubled over in agony and fell back down. "O-Ow..."

"Stop overreacting! Can't you handle a little bit of pain?"

"I'm serious... You've really hurt me this time!"

"Stop whining and sit down. You're in my way." He carried me into the lounge and set me on the sofa.

I curled up, holding my aching abdomen. It was so painful. By now, I wanted to die so badly. The only reason I hadn't taken my own life was because of my siblings. I didn't want to put them through another death. Also now, I had the baby to think of... And Lee. My best friend Lee.

Sasuke came in a few minutes later and sat on the sofa beside me. "I'm sorry." He said. "I forgot about the baby."

"What if I wasn't pregnant? Would you still apologize?"

"Of course I would! I love you!"

I snapped. "This is love? You think that beating the living daylights out of me day after day is love?"

He glared.

"And you know I'm pregnant, but you still attack me anyway?" I screamed. "Fuck you! I hope you fucking burn in hell! I hope you die!" I got up, ignoring the intense pain in my stomach and staggered away from him.

He grabbed the sleeve of my top. "Where the fuck are you going?"

"I'm leaving you!"

"Bastard!" He twisted my arm sharply.

"A-Ah!" I screamed as my wrist snapped. A horrible pain shot right up my arm and tears built up in my eyes.

"You will never leave me! I won't let you!"

"Watch me!" I stumbled toward the front door, but he threw a vase at me. It shattered and a shard of it cut me across the cheek. Sasuke grabbed me by the back of my red hooded top and dragged me up the stairs. The steps had nails sticking out of them and they ripped into my flesh. By the time we got to the top, I was bleeding, crying and bruised; but it didn't stop there. I was shoved harshly into the spare room.

"Shut up and stay in there." Sasuke slammed the door shut. My heart sunk at the sound of a clicking lock. _No..._

"Sasuke!" I cried, desperately fumbling with the handle. "Sasuke let me out! Sasuke!"

He thudded down the stairs and I could hear the keys jingling in his hand.

"You can't do this to me!" Now I was panicking. My wrist was absolute agony; I could hardly feel it anymore. White hot pain shot through the bone, tearing at my nerves. It made me dizzy. Now, I had to find a simple way out. There was a window in the room but it was high up and I couldn't reach it. Damn it, I hated being short! Furthermore, the room was empty apart from an old mattress and a few books. My back, legs and arms were cut to ribbons from the nails in the stairs and blood was dripping onto the floor, but that was the least of my worries. I'd had injuries much worse than that. I felt claustrophobia take over my body. The walls around me got closer and the darkness became blinding. I sat there rocking back and forth chanting: Why me?

I had never felt so alone before in my life till this very moment. why couldn't anybody love me right? Was I really that much of a pushover to let people do this to me?

My heart raced and my vision was blurred. The room began to spin faster and faster and from there on, I knew something wasn't right. Nauseous and delirious, I started vomiting blood, but I felt so bad that I didn't take the blind bit of notice until everytime I looked down, all I saw was a bright red puddle staining the pale beige carpet. God, I just prayed that the baby was okay.

000

Lee POV

I was starting to worry. I'd not heard from Gaara in two days. Them two days ago were when I came over to his house; only to witness Sasuke's fury. I was terrified for Gaara's safety. Sure relationships had their ups and downs, but something sinister burned in the Uchiha's eyes that night. Something that made my stomach lurch in fear.

I walked past the house. It was dark inside so I guessed nobody was in. Suddenly, My curiosity got the better of me and I found myself approaching the window. Peering in, I was relieved to find nothing looked abnormal.

"What are you doing?" Came a voice.

I turned. "U-Uchiha-sama! I came to visit and nobody was in, so I thought to look in the window."

Sasuke glared. I could smell alcohol on his breath. "You may leave."

"I was looking for Gaara-"

"He's in bed. Pregnancy is tiring him out. Now, leave."

"You had better not have hurt my best friend!"

"Why the fuck would I do that? I said leave. If I have to ask again, I will phone the police."

I nodded and turned away. Sasuke was behaving strangely and I couldn't help but wonder why. As I got further down the street, the cold, dark atmosphere seemed to lift and I felt a bit happier, but not all of my troubles were gone.

"Bushy-Brows, datttebayo!"

I smiled, recognizing that voice anywhere. "Naruto-kun! How are you?"

The blonde grinned. "Heh. I'm great. Say, how about we go eat some ramen together? Your treat!" He walked away. "C'mon! I'm starved!"

"Na-Naruto! I-"

"Hurry up buddy! Get that cash out!" He chuckled.

I rolled my eyes and followed him to Ichiraku's Ramen stand.

As we sat down to eat, Naruto stared at me once he found a spare second to stop slurping his food, looking a little concerned. "Hey Bushy-Brows, you okay?"

"Not really." I said admittedly, poking at a piece of meat in my dish with my chopsticks.

"What's up?" He asked.

"I am in love."

Naruto grinned. "Heh heh... Who's the lucky lady then?"

"I am bi. This person is male." I said, blushing a little.

"Wow. So who's the lucky guy then?"

I blushed deeper and kept silent.

"It's Gaara isn't it? I've seen the way you look at him."

"Y-Yes. I love him so much."

"You do realize he's engaged to Sasuke, right?"

I gasped. "Oh, I do not want to come between them! I accept that he is in love with Sasuke-san!"

"If only every person in the world was like you Lee."  
"Do not credit me too much Naruto-kun."

"Hey, I've been meaning to ask you this, but haven't you noticed something weird going on lately?"

"What do you mean?"

"With Sasuke and Gaara."

"Well, I am worried about Gaara-kun." I said, feeling depression hang over me like a black cloud.

"You know what? Me too. I reckon Sasuke hits him ya know."

Anger bubbled inside me. "Have you seen the marks on his arms? They are all cut and bruised!"

"Maybe it's self-harm. Wouldn't surprise me."

"It's not. I've known him almost all my life and I know he'd never do that."

Naruto carried on eating, a glum expression on his whiskered face.

"You have dated Sasuke-san before, right?"

"Yeah."

"What was he like?"

"He's very controlling. The type to always ask where you're going and who with. Stuff like that. He pushed me around too and that's why I left him. Gaara is an idiot to still love him."

"Gaara-kun is not an idiot!" I growled, getting up and storming away.

"Hey, what about the ramen, dattebayo? I haven't any money!"

I handed him the bill and rushed home. There, I phoned Gaara over and over again, but as always, it went straight to answer machine.

I didn't get much sleep that night due to how worried and furious I felt. Gaara stayed on my mind. I just kept thinking of him, wondering how he was, wanting to hold him tight and take away all the pain.

000

When morning came, I clumsily got out of bed and went into the bathroom to shower. Even all that hot water running over my body didn't make me feel any better. Sleep last night was virtually impossible. Everytime I closed my eyes, I got a horrible sinking feeling in my stomach and then my mind would drift back to Gaara. After showering, I got dressed and tried phoning him again, even though I knew it was no use.

"Yeah?" Came his voice.

I almost collapsed in relief. "Gaara-kun! A-Are you okay? I have been trying to phone you for three days straight!"

"R-Really? I'm fine. I just lost my phone."

"Where are you?"

"I'm out getting some stuff for Sasuke."

"Want to meet up?"

"I'm kinda busy at the moment."

"Well what shop are you in?"

"I'm near the coffee shop."

"Wait there and I will come and meet you."

"Umm okay..."

I ended the call and rushed to meet him. When I got there, I noticed that he seemed to be in pain. His body was hunched over a little and he was holding his right arm to his chest.

"What is the matter?" I asked.

"N-Nothing... M stomach just hurts."

"What about your arm?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

I gently took hold of it and pulled his sleeve up. His wrist was bent at an angle and was badly bruised and swollen. I gasped. "It is broken."

"R-Really?"

"Do you want to go to the hospital?"

"No Lee I'm fine."

"Gaara I'm taking you and that's that."

"I'd better tell Sasuke."

"You always tell Sasuke everything!"

"Well we are getting married soon, baka."

Those words burnt my heart, I wanted him so bad. I thought about him, I dreamt about him and he was my drug that I was all too dependent on. "Gaara, we're going."

"Okay Lee."

"Hn." He got out a cigarette and a lighter.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like?" He asked, lighting it and smoking.

"That is just... It is vile! How can you put that stuff in your body?"

"Easy. I'm stressed."

"Why?"

"Sasuke-bastard keeps going out and leaving me to do everything for him. I barely have a social life anymore. You know what it's like."

"What is going on with you two?"

"Nothing." He took another drag on the cigarette.

"Put that thing out!"

"No."

"Please."

He rolled his eyes and stubbed it out on a nearby wall before throwing it in the bin. "Happy?"

"Yes."

Gaara rolled his eyes.

"How did you hurt your wrist?"

"I can't remember."

"How can you not remember?"

"Christ! What is it with you? Unfortunately, I don't have time to play 'Ask Gaara' all day long!"

"I am being concerned!"

"No, you're being annoying! There's a difference."

"Listen, Naruto-kun is worried about you too!"

"Why?"

"He thinks that Sasuke-san is hurting you and quite frankly, I think so too."

He glared. "Don't be stupid. Sasuke loves me."

"But do you love him?"

"Of course I do! What makes you think I don't?"

"You would tell me if he hurt you, right?"

He moved his gaze to the side.

I looked at him a little confused. "Well?"

He suddenly doubled over in pain and screamed.

"Gaara!" I held him up. "Come, I have to get you to the hospital!"

"Nnnghh..."

"Let me carry you."

"I-It's fine... I'm okay..."

"I cannot watch you suffer." I tried to pick him up, but he cried out in pain.

"Don't do that! Don't touch me!" He sobbed. "O-Ow..."

"Okay Lee, what have you done to upset him, dattebayo?" Came Naruto's voice.

"Naruto-kun! Please get help! Gaara-kun is hurt!"

He knelt down beside him. "He doesn't look too good, dattebayo. I'll get Sakura-chan."

"Thank you." I said, stroking Gaara's back. "You are going to be fine." I whispered to him. He leaned against me, breathing heavy.

I saw Gaara clench his stomach, he moved away from me and vomited blood. I wished Sakura would hurry up. This pain must have been unbearable for him, but at least he knew I was there to support him no matter what. I just hoped the little angel inside of him was alright. If anything were to happen to him or her, I would be devastated. Sakura appeared beside us.

"Gaara-san, what's wrong?"

"M-My stomach hurts and I keep b-bleeding."

"Bleeding? Where?"

"Inside. I'm vomiting blood."

"How long has this been happening?"

"A few days."

She let out an exasperated sigh. "Then why didn't you inquire about it earlier?"

"Because I thought it was nothing!"

"Aren't you pregnant?"

"Yes."

"Okay." Sakura checked over him over and sighed. This time, out of pity. "Gaara I have some terrible news."

"What is it?" I saw tears in his eyes. This shattered my non-full heart. you see, my heart worked in two halves: One half Gaara's and one half mine.

"You've lost the baby" Sakura said with sorrow. "I'm sorry."

He didn't burst into tears like I thought. He just stared at the floor and paled.

"You need to come to the hospital."

"Why?"

"Because I felt injury with my chakra."

"I want to go home." He hissed, bringing his knees up to his chest.

"And I won't let that happen." Sakura grabbed hold of his arm, but he yanked it out of her grasp. "Don't you dare touch me."

Sakura recoiled slightly. "Please... You are going to die if you are not treated soon!"

"I don't care if I die. The world would benefit from my death."

I gasped. "Why think like that? You have Sasuke!"

"And you think he'll support me? Feel sympathy? No, he'll drown his sorrows in sake!"

"Gaara, please..." Sakura tried again.

"I said- ah!" He cried out in agony, holding his stomach and vomited more blood.

Sakura held him up. "I'm taking you to the hospital."

"N-No..." He protested weakly, but lost consciousness.

"Gaara!"

Sakura gasped and checked his vitals. "Don't worry. The sooner we get him to the hospital, the better."

"What's wrong with him?"

"Miscarriage is extremely dangerous in male pregnancy. It can cause infections and all kinds of stuff. He is very weak, but he'll be fine."

"Thank you."

"No problem. Right, can you carry him?"

"Yes."

"I'll rush over to the hospital and tell Tsunade-sama."

"Hai." I carefully lifted Gaara off the ground, surprised by how light he was and carried him to the hospital.

000

Gaara POV

My eyes opened as the surroundings around me become clearer each second; I turned my head to see a familiar pink haired nurse standing beside me.

"Welcome back Gaara." She said, a hint of relief in her voice.

"Sakura, what's going on?" I asked.

"You lost the baby and we had to operate on you remember?"

"Operate? Why?"

She looked at me a little cautiously. "I don't know what's happening with you, but we found severe bleeding in your abdomen and serious injury to one of your kidneys. We've had to put pins and rods in your arm because your wrist has been completely snapped." She said. "How did you manage to get hurt like that?"

"No idea."  
"Gaara, it takes a lot of force to do that sort of damage so you must've known when it happened, now tell me, how did it happen?"

"I fell down the stairs and hit my body on the banister."

"We also found old bone fractures on your ribs and arms." She sat down on my bed. "Is somebody hurting you?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" I hissed.

"You do realize that you will die if you get any more injuries? Your body can't take it."

"Yeah."

"Can I ask you something?"

"Depends what it is."

She rolled her eyes. "Are you eating enough?"

"Yes."

"You do realize that when you came in, we had to put you on a drip straight away because you were so dehydrated? Furthermore, you are very underweight, which worries me a great deal."

"Sorry." God, I was so annoyed! Sasuke-bastard stopped me from eating, that's why I was underweight! I was lucky to get one square meal a month with him around!

"Why are you sorry?" Sakura snapped me out of my angry thoughts.

"It doesn't matter." I replied in a monotone voice.

"Do you need anything?"

"Can I have a bottle of water please?"

"Sure."

Everything was coming back to me: The beatings, the loss and the pain. Sakura used to have a huge crush on Sasuke so when she found it he was gay, she was shocked. I was glad she never had to suffer from everything I do now. Sure she's annoying but she's a very nice person.

"Here." She handed me the bottle.

"Thanks."

"Lee has been waiting for you to wake up. He's been so worried. Your family from Sunagakure are here too."

"What about Sasuke?"

"He came in earlier to see you."

"Did you tell him about the baby?"

"Yes. He just left after I told him."

I nodded. "When will I be discharged?"

"Not at least for another few days. You must rest at home."

_Like that's gonna happen_ I thought. Sasuke would have me running around after him in a few hours of coming home. Typical.

"Sleep now, okay? If you don't feel well, call me over."

"Yeah." I couldn't imagine how angry Sasuke probably was with me. He would probably blame me for the miscarriage. The murdering bastard. I crossed my arms over my chest and glared out of the window. I couldn't believe I'd been putting up with all of this for... how long? Three years? Four? To be honest, I could no longer remember; I didn't care and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life with him. The engagement ring he gave me all them years ago meant nothing to me now. Now, it lay underneath my dresser at home. Surprisingly, he didn't seem to notice that I'd taken it off. I had no intentions of putting it back on either.

"Gaara-kun." Lee stood at my door. "Thank goodness you are alive!" He rushed over and hugged me gently. "Your family are here too. We've all been so worried!"

I hugged him back. "I'm fine. Really."

"I am happy to hear that!"

"Lee, you can leave now." Said a cold voice. Sasuke strode in, sending my best friend a death glare.

Lee nodded and hurried out.

"Gaara, you idiot! Why did you have to pass out? Do you want me to go to jail?" Sasuke hissed once Lee was out of hearing range.

"Gomenasai." I said.

"You can't handle anything can you? Not even a little bit of pain."

That was it. I snapped. "You caused me to miscarry, Sasuke-sama! You hit me so hard that our child died inside of me!"

"Keep your fucking voice down! The reason our child died was because you couldn't protect it!"

You know what? He was right. Maybe if I blocked Sasuke's punches and kicks, the baby would still be alive. It was my fault all along and here I was, blaming Sasuke for it.

"I'm right aren't I? You'd better fucking know it." My fiance asked.

"You're right. Gomenasai."

"I'm leaving now. I have to get back to work. See you tomorrow."

"Bye." I waited until he was completely out of my sight before letting a tear roll down my face. By now, I just knew I couldn't escape him. This was it. My life was going to end pretty soon, prematurely. I was only twenty-one.

"Gaara!" Temari rushed in and threw her arms around me. "You're awake!"

I hugged her back. "Hey sis."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm great thanks. You?"

"Worried sick, but I'm fine otherwise."

"Well how is everybody?"

"Shikamaru and I are staying in Konoha until you're fully recovered. Kankuro is somewhere. I think he went to get food."

"Trust him."

Temari laughed.

"What about Mai?" I asked. Mai was my four year-old niece. She was Temari and Shikamaru's daughter. Kankuro had a steady relationship with Kiba and they were planning to adopt once they got married.

"She's here too. I told her that she can visit once you're a bit better."

"Good. How has she been?"

"She's great. Shikamaru has got her saying 'troublesome' now. She's at that stage where she repeats everything you say. I've been trying to stop Kankuro swearing in front of her."

"Kankuro wouldn't stop swearing if his life depended on it."

"That's true." She grinned. "You look so much better since the last time I saw you."

"When was that?"

"Yesterday morning. I'm so happy you're okay now!"

I wanted to tell her so bad about Sasuke, but I didn't want to worry her and furthermore, he promised to kill me if I dared to breathe a word of it. Even though I had my family on my side, Naruto, Lee, the hospital staff... Still why did I feel so trapped?


	3. Back to his old ways

**Face Down**

**Chapter 3**

**Back to his old ways...**

**Gaara POV**

Eventually, I was discharged from hospital, but Sakura didn't fail to warn me that I'd have to take it easy for a very long time which I knew wasn't possible with Sasuke. Even so, I knew I'd be fine. I had been through a lot and in most ways, it made me stronger.

"I'll come by tomorrow." Said Temari as I got out the car. She'd just dropped me off since Sasuke obviously was 'too busy' to do it himself. Lee offered, but remembered that he didn't own a car as he believed in walking.

"Thanks for the lift. Bye." I said, giving my sister a light hug.

"Remember to rest, yeah? Don't move around too much."

I rolled my eyes. "Temari, I'm twenty-one!"

"And you're still my little brother! Nothing will change that."

"Hn."

"See you tomorrow."

"Yeah." I watched as she drove off into the distance. Dread flooded me as I turned to my house._ Baka..._ I scolded myself. _It's my house, why should I be scared?_

"Gaara." Said that voice I feared.

"Sasuke-sama." I replied, quickly making my way over to him.

"Get in."

I nodded and obeyed him. The hall was dark and I could smell alcohol... Alcohol and blood.

_My blood_

"If you have any more hospital visits from this day on, I will make sure that you never see daylight ever again!" He hissed. "Do you understand?"

"Hai, Sasuke-sama."

"I'm on the verge of beating you to a pulp, but then again, I don't think your sister would like to see her little brother laying dead on the floor in a pool of blood."

I shuddered.

"Make me dinner. I'm hungry."

"Am I allowed to eat? The nurses said I need to put on weight."

"No you don't."

"So I need to lose more?"

"Your weight is fine. Just leave it as it is."

"Well can I eat then?"

"No. I'm annoyed with you so you can go without."

Great. Looked like I would be sleeping on an empty stomach again. By now, I was so used to hunger pains that they no longer bothered me.

"Get to it then. I want my dinner."

"What would you like?"

"Surprise me."

As I prepared his ramen, I was very tempted to sprinkle rat poison on his noodles... Oh, I would have done if he wasn't standing behind me, watching my every move. That bastard.

"Are you done yet? I'm fucking starving." He growled.

"Yeah." I plated up and set the food down in front of him. My stomach ached and I winced.

"Look, if you're that hungry, why don't you clean up to take your mind off it?"

"Smoking helps a bit."

"Then smoke. Don't stand there staring at me like a lost puppy. Make yourself useful for a change."

I got up silently and proceeded to clean the hallway, which was hard with one hand. My right arm was in a cast and sling, so I could hardly do anything. I really struggled with Sasuke's dinner and you know what? He didn't even offer to help me. He just sat there, glaring daggers into my back. I suddenly felt faint and collapsed, breathing hard.

Sasuke looked at me and carried on eating.

Regaining my balance, I went into the kitchen. "Sasuke-sama, I really need to rest. I don't feel well."

"Can't you do anything without complaining? What is the matter with you?" He shoved me.

Oh God. Here we go...

"Gomen, Gomen, I'll be fine... just leave it to me."

"Good. After you've done the housework, then you can rest."

"Arigato." For most of the night, I forced myself to clean, despite how much pain I was in. To be honest, I didn't care. As long at Sasuke didn't hurt me, I was willing to do anything to keep him happy. It was midnight when I'd finished and Sasuke had gone to bed. I found some rice balls in the fridge and ate one of them. It felt so good to finally eat something...

"Gaara!" Sasuke yelled.

I shoved the rest of the rice ball in my mouth, chewing fast so he didn't notice I'd eaten.

"Gaara!" He shouted again.

"Coming!" When I got in the bedroom, he roughly pulled me onto the bed.

"I want to cuddle up to you. It's lonely when you're not sleeping next to me." He kissed me lightly on the lips and wrapped his arm around my body, pulling me close. "I've missed you."

I held back a scream as he put pressure on one of my ribs which was cracked and hadn't healed fully yet. He seemed to had forgotten that my abdomen was still hurting a lot from the surgery and that the painkillers had worn off. "I've m-missed you t-too." I lied.

000

Luckily, he fell asleep soon and I shifted out of his hold. It made me feel sick just to have him touch me. He was a sadistic bastard who needed to die. That's right, not a day went by when I didn't wish death upon him. After all the pain he put me through, wasn't it time he felt something of it? I had an idea. Getting up from the bed slowly as not to stir him, I put on a shirt and crept downstairs. I got to the front door and unlocked it shakily, but a hand on my shoulder made me jump.

"What are you trying to do?" Sasuke growled in my ear. How could he have come down the stairs so quietly that I failed to hear him?

"I was making sure the door was locked." I replied calmly.

"But you just unlocked it."

"Ah. So I did. Gomen." I went to lock it again, but he slammed me into the wall.

"You were trying to escape, weren't you?"

I smirked. "As a matter of fact, yes I was. You are a sadistic, cruel and controlling bastard who makes himself feel better by hurting others."

He glared so intensely at me that I was surprised he didn't burn a hole in my skull.

"I hope you die a long, slow and very painful death." I added.

"You think this is funny? Are you trying to act all tough now?" He pushed me harder against the wall and I could hardly breathe, but I didn't care. It was so satisfying to say what I'd been desperate to say to him for years now.

"I suppose you haven't noticed, but look." I held up my hand to show the missing engagement ring.

"You've got a lot of guts, you know. I am an Uchiha. You don't stand a chance against me."

"Then die. Nobody loves you."

"The only person who's going to die tonight is you!" He dragged me into the kitchen and pulled out a knife. "I will make you love me!"

"Just you try it, dickhead."

He plunged the knife deep inside me.

I held back a scream of agony. It hurt, but not as much as I thought it would

"Had enough?" He pushed it in even deeper.

"Doesn't hurt." I said, glaring him right in the eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He started twisting the blade.

I was okay... it didn't hurt... didn't hurt...

"I love you." Sasuke pulled the blade out and started licking the blood away from my skin. It stung when he tongue ran over the wound itself and out of reflex, I pushed him away. "Fuck off!"

"Why should I? What are you going to do about it?" He asked menacingly.

I knocked the knife out of his hand and caught it in mine.

"You're going to kill me? Go ahead."

"You don't care?"

"No. Because I know you haven't got the guts to do it."

"Want to bet?"

"Sure. Bet on your life."

I was shaking like a leaf as I raised the blade. Sasuke suddenly punched me in the stomach, making me drop the weapon in pain and shock.

"Pussy." He punched me in the same place again, this time, harder. I felt the wound from my surgery re-open and blood was gushing out.

"Does this hurt? Does it hurt, you fucking slut?" He pushed me through the glass cabinet in the corner and the glass shattered, cutting me to ribbons.

"I want you to cry! Come on!" He dragged me out of the remains of the cabinet and punched me in the stomach again, then stabbed me forcefully in the leg. Great, what was he trying to do now? Prevent me from walking? I was trying so hard not to cry from the pain. On the inside, I felt like breaking down and begging him to stop, but I just had to be strong; I had to fight even if it meant my life. The thing I needed most at that moment in time was the satisfaction. I wanted to hurt him, make him feel the pain that I'd had to endure for years. I wanted him to _bleed._ Bleed like I had bled. Pushing him to the floor, I bit him on the hand, the hardest bite I could manage until I could taste his blood. He cried out in pain and slashed me a few times with the knife across my arms and back. The more it hurt, the harder I bit. Soon, I could feel and hear the bones his hand crack. Unable to hold on, I let his broken hand go, smirking. "How does it feel to be on the receiving end for once?"

He didn't reply.

"It hurts doesn't it?"

Sasuke growled and stormed over to me. He dragged me up the stairs again, purposely making sure that all the nails sticking out of them cut me open all over. Once at the top, he threw me back in that dreaded room yet again. That dreaded room where so many bad memories hung in the air. I looked at the floor, feeling sick. My own blood decorated the area like crimson paint that had been violently splashed up the walls and on the ground.

"You either apologize, or I leave you in here to die!"

"Ha. I'd rather _be_ dead than be with you."

"Fine then. You can starve to death for all I care. That is if you don't bleed to death first." He slammed the door and locked it.

Despite all of this, I felt good. I'd finally hurt him... made him bleed, cry out in pain. Nothing could describe this feeling of success. It felt like I'd won something great. I felt emotions take over me and before I knew it, I was crying silently and curled up on the floor. Why did I feel like this? Was I crying because I was happy? Maybe it was just all in my head... Maybe I finally _was_ losing my mind.

000

The next morning, I was awakened by a loud knock at the door. In fact, why did I wake up at all? Why didn't I die in my sleep like I'd hoped? There was blood everywhere and I could hardly move from how much pain I was in. A massive shard of glass was sticking out from between my ribs and I was covered in cuts and bruises. I looked at the glass in my body and slowly pulled it out, gritting my teeth against the pain. Once it was out, blood started spurting; so I pressed my palm against the wound to stem the flow. At least the worst of it was over. Moments later, I heard the front door open and then came Temari's voice.

"I promised Gaara I'd come over today." I heard her say.

"He's not in." Replied Sasuke's dark, stoic voice.

"What do you mean? He's meant to be resting! Where did he go?"

"He wanted to see Kankuro. I was asleep when he went, but he phoned me to let me know."

"Oh right. I'll drop by Kiba's place then."

"Wait. Would you like to come in for a while? I want to get to know you."

"Sure. Why not? He's safe with Kankuro for sure."

I heard footsteps go into the kitchen and crawled in agony over to the locked door.

"Help..." I called weakly, trying to bang on the door.

The footsteps stopped. "Sasuke-san, do you hear that?" Asked Temari.

"I'm in here..." I called again. My voice suddenly choked up and blood rose in my throat.

"Ignore that." Came Sasuke's voice.

"What is it?"

"We have a ghost. Didn't I tell you?"

"A ghost? Is it bad?"

"Nah. He wants to get attention sometimes when we have guests. He likes to scare them."

"Oh."

Now, I was crying. "Temari..." I felt so alone and trapped. "Don't go..." By now, I knew for sure that I would die here. Alone. My sister left about an hour later. She didn't find me. Sasuke drowned out my voice with loud music. I could hear him and Temari having a good laugh. I so desperately wanted to tell somebody about this and I wished I had of done sooner before he locked me in here to die. Now, I knew I wasn't afraid of him; He was nothing. What was the worst he could do? Murder me? Then he'd be arrested and his sad little reputation that he'd built all his life would slowly crumble down and burn. How I'd love to see that.

Later on, I started to feel a little stronger and the pain had died down to dull throbs. I decided to try and come up with an escape plan. The old mattress was still there... so were the books... Maybe I could pile them all on top of each other and escape through the window? Deciding that was my best and only option at the present time, I put the mattress underneath the window and put about five books on top of it before climbing on. Almost... I could almost reach my freedom... Just a few more books should do it...

After a few minutes, I finally managed to pull myself up onto the window ledge; but with great difficulty because of my injuries. As I started trying to escape out of the window, Sasuke's footsteps pounded up the stairs. Fuck! Why wouldn't the window open? I fumbled around with the handle with trembling hands. Hurry up! Suddenly, I lost my balance and fell, sending the books crashing down with me. "Ow..." I groaned, pushing myself up. Try again.

"Gaara, what are you banging around for? What are you doing?" Yelled Sasuke's voice from the other side of the door. Shit.

"Nothing, Sasuke-sama. Just go back downstairs." I climbed on top of the books again, praying that I didn't fall. If I did, I was finished!

"I'm coming in!" I heard his keys jingle before the door unlocked. My heart was pumping so hard I thought I was going to have a heart attack. Out of sheer determination to escape, I started punching the glass, not caring how much it cut me and eventually, the window smashed, revealing the world outside, the bitter Winter air. I clambered through, and winced as the glass cut me deep. At that moment, Sasuke barged in and saw me half hanging out of the window. The look on his face was priceless.

"Gaara! Don't you dare!" He roared, grabbing my arm. I turned round and punched him as hard as I could right in the nose, feeling the cartilage crunch underneath my fist. Now to jump down... God only knew how I was going to do that, but I could hear Sasuke trying to get up again so I faced my fears and leapt right off the ledge. I landed hard in a heap on the floor. My leg twisted at a funny angle and dislocated at the knee, but I had no time to acknowledge the pain and forced myself to my feet; All I knew was that I _had_ to keep going no matter what.

Dragging my injured leg along the floor, I desperately hobbled away. Tears ran down my face. God I was so scared... If Sasuke caught me, he'd definitely kill me; no doubt about it. It was raining heavily and I was thankful for it as it washed the blood away from my skin. I was going to find my siblings and return home with them to Suna.

000

Lee POV

Ugh... this felt like the worst thing ever. Due to my mind being completely stressed out with worry, I had forgotten to buy groceries and now, it was night and I was hungry. My only option was to get a takeaway. How I hated that stuff... but I guess it was better than starving to death. Maybe I could find a very healthy takeaway place. Fat chance. It was really cold out, so I was wearing my jacket. You could definitely tell Winter was on it's way. I got halfway down the street when the sound of crying met my ears, causing me to freeze on the spot. I looked around, concerned. A dark figure stood hunched over and trembling by the trees of the forest, visible from the silver moonlight. It was blatantly obvious that the sobs were coming from that direction.

"Hello?" I called gently, approaching this person slowly as not to scare them. "A-Are you okay?" As I drew closer, the figure looked up.

"Gaara?" I yelled, rushing over to him. It looked like he had some sort of a mental breakdown. There was a self-inflicted wound on his forehead... it was the Kanji for 'love' He was crying his eyes out and there was blood running down his face.

"What have you done to yourself?"

"Just go away! I don't need you! I don't need anybody!" He screamed, burying his face in his hands.

"Gaara, please. Let me help you."

He stopped crying and looked up, stared me right in the face. His eyes had changed. They were now pools of black with a menacing amber iris. "Leave me alone!" He hissed in a deathly voice. Shit. This was getting serious. Not only had he completely lost his mind, but now even worse, Shukaku was emerging from the depths of his consciousness. It only made me wonder what the hell had happened to him for it to have awakened his Bijuu. "Where's Sasuke?" I asked softly.

"Sasuke? Don't get me fucking started on that fucking cruel bastard!"

"H-Have you fallen out?" I was terrified. I'd seen him angry, but never like this. For the first time in my whole entire life, my best friend scared me. Sand started to swirl around us and by now. I knew I was in trouble. Real trouble. "Calm down! Please!"

"Calm down? How can I?" Shukaku hissed. The sand collected on the right side of Gaara's body and face, then took the form of a Tanuki. There was a very negative energy clinging to the air; it drained all happiness in the surroundings and I started to feel weak and depressed. I had no choice but to fight him. Either that or die. I couldn't hurt him whilst he stood in Gaara's body... I just couldn't... Gaara was my world and he'd just come out of hospital with serious injuries! What if I accidentally hit a vital point in his body and he died? I couldn't live with myself! Instead of attacking, I threw myself at him. The sand grazed me terribly but I didn't care. I pushed him to the floor, but it seemed to make him angrier.  
"Just like Uchiha did! Are you going to attempt murder on my vessel too?"

That shocked me. Sasuke must've really upset him.

"I thought you were my best friend Lee." The demon said in Gaara's voice.

"Gaara hang in there! I have to get your Bijuu under control!"

"I need to feel alive! Don't you stop me!" He screamed even louder and started trying to hurt me. I had to wake up the real Gaara to stop this. The only was this would stop was to hurt him, but I couldn't do it! Then I remembered... the curse seal... maybe if I forced enough chakra into it, he'd be okay. It was worth a try. I ran up to him and placed my hand on his stomach, where the curse seal resided and focused chakra into the palm of my hand. He didn't move, like he was frozen, but a few seconds later, the sand slowly crumbled off and he went went limp. I was right. He was now back to his normal self. As he lay unconscious in my arms, my eyes travelled subconsciously to the symbol he'd carved into his forehead which was steadily bleeding and I wondered what in the world had made him do it. All the years I'd known him, he never came across to me as somebody who would inflict an injury upon himself, especially with his fear of his own blood. Now, I had to get him back home. The only thing was, I seemed to not want to give him to Sasuke. As awful as it sounded, I didn't trust him to look after my best friend. In the end, I decided to take him back to my house. He didn't look too well and his skin was ice-cold to touch. He was so thin as well and I was scared that if I held him too tight, he would break. As I carried him through the streets, I caught sight of Sasuke outside the hospital. Sakura was healing what looked like a badly broken nose. I hurried past him, not wanting him to see me and soon, we were at my house. I unlocked the door and set Gaara gently on the sofa. He seemed alright, just exhausted. All he really needed was rest. A lot of rest. I put a few blankets over him to warm him up and stayed at his side all night, just to be sure that he wasn't going to get any worse. By morning, I felt like a zombie from lack of sleep, but it was all worth it just to look after him

"Lee-kun?"

Oh crap! I almost fell asleep! "G-Gaara-kun? How are you feeling?"

"What happened?" Gaara asked, confused.

"You do not remember?"

"I was in the forest and I put love on my forehead... Then I remember nothing..."

"What about anything before that?"

"Ah yes. I remember everything before that." He stared at the floor, tears in his eyes.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Thanks a lot for looking after me."

I lifted his head up so he was looking me in the eye. "Gaara-kun, what happened to you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason, except that I found you having a mental breakdown last night in the woods, you carved the kanji for 'love' on your forehead and you are ill with god knows what."

He let out a sigh. "I lied."

"You lied? About what?"

"About Sasuke. You were right, he _is _abusing me."

I stared at him.

"Abuse Lee! It was abuse!" Gaara shouted at me. I could see the agony in his eyes, the mental pain. No, it couldn't have been... Who could hurt the person they were meant to love? I couldn't believe this... But... I had to... I had to stand by Gaara and help him out no matter what.

"Gaara... what has he been doing to you?" I asked, my blood boiling.

"Everything... rape... isolation... beating... he killed our child inside me!"

"I am going to kill him!"

"No Lee-kun! Sasuke-sama is very strong!"

"I do not care Gaara! sometimes you have to put the person you care about first before caring about yourself!"

"Lee." Gaara said sternly. "Remember who he is."

"As I said before, I do not care! He has hurt you and he will not get away with it!"

"Le-"

"Stay here. I will be back soon!" Before Gaara could stop me, I rushed out through the front door and saw Sasuke walking home.

"Hey, you!" I yelled, running up to him."

"What the fuck do you want? I have a razor if you want to shave your overgrown eyebrows."

"I did not think you could sink any lower but it looks like you already have?"

"What are you talking about?" He handed me some money. "Go buy yourself some fashion sense."

I punched him hard across the face. "I know what you have been doing to Gaara-kun!"

"Where is the little bastard? I'll fucking kill him!"

"You will not go anywhere near him!"

"Says who?"

"Me."  
"Pfft. You're not worth it. I'd hurry back to Gaara if I were you."

"What do you mean?"

"I know people. Criminals. I have already sent them out to bring Gaara back to me and this conversation is currently being recorded and sent to them via headphones." Sasuke said smugly.

"Karin, you know what to do." He said into a tiny microphone sat between his fingers. I'd only made all of this worse for Gaara.

000

Nothing seemed abnormal when I got through the door. Gaara was on the sofa still and nothing seemed out of place.

"Are you okay?" I hugged him

"Yeah."

"I am so sorry!"

"For what?" He asked, patting my back.

"What if I have made things worse for you?"

"You haven't. He's a coward really and relies on his gang to do all the dirty work for him."

"But his gang are trying to find you and they know you are with me!"

"They don't know where you live though, do they?"

"Well no, but still, I put you in danger!"

"Stop blaming yourself! You saved me from him and that's what matters!"

He was right. "I promise you will never be touched by him again!"

Gaara smiled. It was small, but genuine. "Thank you." He shifted at little in my arms and I let go.

"What is wrong?" My eyes drifted down to his blood-soaked hand which clutched at a wound on his stomach. "You are hurt!"

"He stabbed me. I think I re-opened the wound."

"When did he do it?"

"Yesterday." He moved his hand so I could see the injury. It was pretty deep.

"Hold still, I need to stem the bleeding." I lifted up his torn shirt and saw some more deep cuts alongside numerous bruises; indicating fractured ribs.

"It's not as bad as it looks. I've had much worse than this."

I managed to stop the bleeding after a few minutes and cleaned him up. "Keep pressure on it whilst I get some bandages." I instructed. He nodded. Luckily, I found some special glue made for sealing open wounds. It was a good job I'd been on a medical course before and I knew how to apply it. I rushed back to Gaara and used the glue to seal the injuries. Once that was done, I bandaged him up tightly to ensure he wouldn't start bleeding again. "I will phone a medic in the morning to take a look at you."

"You don't have to do all this for me, but thanks."

"Gaara-kun, nothing is more important to me in the world than helping out my best friend. I am very happy to look after you until you are better."

"We'll look after each other, right?"

"Of course." I said, then noticed him trembling. His eyes were half-open and teary as he stared at the floor breathing shallow. I could read him like a book. "Is it hurting?" I questioned softly.

He nodded slowly.

"Alright. I will get you some painkillers."

"Thank you."

I got the paracetamol and water, then handed them to Gaara. He swallowed the pills dry and then drank the water.

"Do you need anything else?"

"I'm fine at the moment thanks.

"Good. Try and get some rest." I put a blanket over him and sat on the other sofa. After a while, I guessed the painkillers were working because he fell asleep. I went over to him and touched his face to check his temperature. "Lee-san... I love you..." He mumbled incoherently in his sleep. I found myself blushing like crazy.

"I love you too, Gaara-kun." I whispered. Unable to hold back my urges, I leant down and kissed his soft, pale lips tenderly. Time seemed to stand still. Gaara kissed back, unconsciously of course. He tasted so nice... perfect. I then realized what I was doing; taking advantage of his weak form! He couldn't fight back, he couldn't do anything if the kiss was not wanted! Not to mention he was engaged! I was utterly ashamed of myself and pulled away, though so many questions lingered on my mind: Were his words true? Did he really love me? No, it couldn't be... he was delirious... He didn't know what he was saying.

...Did he?


	4. Confess

**Face Down**

**Chapter 4**

**Confess**

Trying to bring my mind to the terms that had just occurred shocked me. How could I kiss an engaged man? It was just a sick way to fill my fantasy and what made the matter worse was that I took advantage of a person who was badly injured in my care! I felt guilt take over every inch of my soul as I sighed deeply, looking at Gaara with more shame taking over me.

I had never felt so bad in my young life... Why did love have to hurt so much? Better fact, why did it hurt to be in love with Gaara so much? All I could do was pray that he didn't remember what happened. I knelt beside him on the sofa and looked at the clock. It was half past nine in the morning. I'd have to inform his family that he was with me. Just as that thought entered my mind, his hypnotic sapphire eyes fluttered open and he stared at me. He was so beautiful... He was perfection itself... No wonder I was so madly in love with him.

"You are awake." I said happily.

"I had a dream that you kissed me. It felt so real." He said a bit too suddenly.

I blushed. "Y-You did?" Better play along with it...

"Mmh... I can still taste you..." He touched his lips tenderly. "It was a nice kiss."

"Haha..." I said nervously. "Anyway, has the pain gone?"

"Yeah it has. Thanks for the paracetamol."

"No problem. If you need any more, just tell me."

"Thanks. Lee, by the way..."

"Yes?"

"I don't usually smoke. I'm not addicted."

"Then why did you do it?"

"Sasuke starved me didn't he? Smoking suppresses my hunger. Look, I'm really sorry I had to do that in front of you... I was just in so much pain." He stared at the floor guiltily.

"I understand. Please do not apologize." I hugged him gently. We stayed like that for a few minutes.

"You're warm..." He mumbled, moving closer to me.

"Th-thanks. Are you cold?"

"Not anymore."

I stared down at him and our lips were inches apart, but a knock at the door interrupted. Inwardly, I cursed, getting up and opening the door. A young girl, no older than twenty stood on my doorstep. She had bright red hair with a hint of pink. Her dark eyes were hidden by a pair of glasses she wore.

"How may I help you?" I asked.

"Hello. Um... I heard there is somebody staying here by the name of Gaara?"

"Can I ask your name?"

"Karin. And you are?"

"Rock Lee."

"Well is Gaara-san here or not?"

This was risky. She could've been one of Sasuke's gang.

"Gaara-san is a close friend of mine. We go way back. I helped him out a bit when Sasuke-sama started abusing him."

"I am afraid I cannot let you in."

"So he is here."

"Yes."

"I only want to check if he's alright. Is it that much of a crime?"

"Five minutes." I said. "He is very weak and tired."

"Thank you." Karin walked in and stared at Gaara. "Remember me?" She asked.

Gaara jumped up. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"You know perfectly well. Sasuke-sama has requested your return."

"I'm not going back there, Karin!" He shouted.

"You lied to me! Get out of my house!" I stood in front of Gaara to protect him in case she decided to attack. There was no way I was letting him get hurt any longer.

"Don't worry, I'm on my way out." Karin said. "But I know where Gaara is now and we can take him back in three seconds flat. Oh, and guess what?" She got right up to my face. "There's not a thing you can do about it." With that, the girl turned on her heel and walked right out. I felt anger bubbling away in my core. I vowed with everything I had that Gaara would always be safe with me! I couldn't let Sasuke and his gang win! Not a chance! For Gaara's sake, I had to do everything in my power to save him. Moments later, the door slammed as Karin left the house. I looked out of the window to watch her leave. She caught me glaring and flipped me the finger, so I did the same back. Though, I did laugh quite hard when she tripped on a broken slab across the road.

"Lee-kun..." Gaara said quietly.

I rushed over to him. "Are you okay?"

"I don't want Sasuke to take me back there!"

"He won't, he won't..." I soothed, holding him comfortingly in my arms. "I will never let him hurt you."

"I know... I trust you."

"Are you okay now?" I asked, letting him go.

He nodded. "Thank you. I feel bad though... You're doing loads for me and I feel like I'm going to get in your way."

"Gaara-kun, You will never get in my way! Do not say that. You mean everything to me and I will drop everything and anything to help you out!"  
"Y-You mean that?"

"Of course I do."

He slowly sat up.

"Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Can I phone my brother?"

"Sure, here you go." I handed him the phone.

"Thanks." He dialled the number in. "Kank it's me. I'm at Lee's." There was a pause. I could hear Kankuro ranting about something on the other end of the line. "Yeah, I should've called you sooner. Sorry."

"Gaara, he can come over if he wants." I suggested.

Gaara sighed and hung up. "I think he's coming over whether you'd want it or not."

I smirked. "He only cares about you."

"I know."

Minutes later, Kankuro simply walked right in.

"Don't knock or anything, just walk straight in seeing as this is _your_ house." Gaara said, sending a death glare to his older brother.

"Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on? Or are you just going to sit there bitching at me like a woman on her monthly visitor? What the fuck happened to your face?"

"Oh Kankuro, thank you for asking how I am. Lee saved my life so if it weren't for him, I would either be dead or back with Sasuke-bastard."

"What are you talking about?"

"See these?" He asked, pointing to the cuts on his face and arms.

"What about them?"

"Sasuke's doing. He's been abusing me."

Kankuro suddenly growled. "What the fuck has he done to you? Show me!"

Gaara unwrapped the bandages around his abdomen, revealing the two deep wounds I fixed up yesterday. "These. He stabbed me."

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"He threatened to kill me if I breathed a word of it."

"That fucking evil bastard! I'll fucking kill him!"

There was suddenly a knock at the door. I went over and opened it.

"Where is he?" Sasuke hissed.

"Where is who?"

The ebony-haired man shoved past me and stormed inside.

"Get out of my house! Sasuke!"

It was too late, he'd got Gaara up against the wall and was hitting him. "You dare fucking leave me! You're coming back with me you little slut!" He then threw him to the floor and kicked him hard. Gaara cried out in pain. Furious, I leapt in front of my best friend to protect him, taking the hits.

"Hey! You leave them alone!" Kankuro threw Sasuke across the room and punched him violently. "Don't you dare hurt my little brother!"

"Looks like I already did." Sasuke's words were harsh. He looked over to Gaara who sat in a bit of a daze on the floor and helped him up. "Go over there."

He nodded and stood in the corner.

"I will kill you!" shouted Kankuro.

"Really now?"

"Why do you hurt the person you're meant to love?" I asked.

"Lee. The man who is still everything from me." Sasuke said, staring right at me.

"No, Sasuke, the reason why you lost him was because you started to abuse him! He trusted you and now how do expect him to trust anybody now?"

Sasuke stared at me. "I abused him because he deserved it."

"Not a single person in this world deserves to be put through all of that pain!"

"Except for him."

Kankuro punched the Uchiha again. "And to think I was ready to let you marry him!"

"Sasuke, what did he ever do to make you hurt him?"

"He didn't do things around the house properly!"

"No wonder he couldn't! You almost starved him to death!"

"What?" Kankuro screamed. "You starved him?" He pinned Sasuke against the wall, ready to beat him to a pulp.

"Yes I did. He needed punishing for his disobedience."

"You bastard! I blamed him for not eating enough and it was your fault all along!"

"Maybe as his brother, you should've noticed something wasn't right."

"Don't listen to him Kankuro!" I said.

Sasuke continued. "What does family mean to you? To me, it means nothing, but I'm sure as siblings, you're meant to look after each other. Didn't you notice the weight drop off of him? The injuries?"

"I didn't know..."

"No, you didn't. What kind of brother does that make you?"

Gaara got up and punched Sasuke hard. "Kankuro is the best brother anybody could wish for! Don't tell him otherwise!"

Sasuke struck Gaara in the stomach. "Don't you start, you little slut!"

I caught him as he fell back, holding his abdomen. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Don't worry about me." He replied.

"Leave now!" I hissed to Sasuke. He had no right to come into my house and attack the person who meant everything to me!

The Uchiha smirked. "Alright, I'll go. Only because you're all too worthless for me to waste my energy on. Especially you, Gaara. You'll come running back to me eventually."

"Don't hold your breath." Replied Gaara in a low voice. Once Sasuke was gone, he collapsed in my arms, crying. I held him tight, telling him over and over again that I'd protect him... that Sasuke would never ever hurt him.

000

Gaara POV

It was terrifying to see Sasuke again; he made my blood run cold, made shivers run up my spine. All I wanted was this pain to leave, those memories engraved into my mind; Why couldn't they just disappear? Lee held me tight as I cried; But I soon managed to calm myself thanks to him and Kankuro. I was glad they both stood up for me; it showed that I actually did belong in this world, regardless and having them around me made me feel stronger because I finally had the support I'd needed all along. For once, I was happy. Kankuro had to leave soon though because Kiba was wondering where he was.

"Gaara-kun, sit up, I need to change your bandages." Said Lee.

I nodded and sat up, then took off my shirt.

He gently unraveled the dressing, then frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"I think your wound is infected. I will phone the doctor to take a look at you. Does it hurt?"

"It throbs."

Lee nodded and dialled a number into the phone. He walked into the kitchen to make the phonecall. I lay on the sofa and waited. Kankuro had phoned the police about Sasuke whilst he was here, so I was expecting a visit from them tomorrow. It was very chaotic, but at least I knew I was finally safe.

Lee came back in a few minutes later. "It is sorted. I have arranged for the Hokage to come over.

"Hokage?"

"Yes. She will be here shortly." He gave me a hug. "I just want you to be safe."

I blushed at his touch. The thing was, I'd always really liked him more than a friend. It made me feel really bad and that dream... he kissed me. It felt so real and I could still remember what he tasted like; what it felt like to feel his lips move so lovingly against mine...

"You are blushing." Lee said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "What are you thinking about?" He asked, smiling.

I felt like saying: 'I'm thinking about you, you big sexy hunk' but decided against it as I didn't want to scare him. "Ah... nothing really. Just some things when I was a kid."

"Embarrassing moments? We all have them."

"Yeah."

"What is the worst one for you?"

"My sister pulled a prank on me... she put loads of her bras and underwear in my schoolbag and when I went to get my pencil case out in the middle of English, my bag split and all of it fell out. I got called a pervert for the rest of my school life."

Lee laughed. "How old were you?"

"Eleven."

"Aww. How cute."

I blushed again.

"I remember you when you were little. You were adorable."

"You think?" I smirked.

"Yeah. Pity I had to move away. I missed school with you."

"We used to mess around all the time."

Lee smiled sadly. "I miss those days."

"Well, we can be best friends again, right?"

"Gaara-kun, we already are best friends... and we always will be."

The doorbell rang and Lee got up to answer it. A woman came into the living room moments later. She had golden-blonde hair and deep hazel eyes. Her face was kind, but I could tell it would be a terrible idea to get on her wrong side. It was also extremely hard not to stare at those huge watermelons down her shirt.

"You're Gaara, right?"  
"Yes, Hokage-sama."

"Pleased to meet you. Call me Tsunade." She said in a gentle voice. "Right, now what's the matter?"

"I just need a check up."

"You were discharged from hospital three days ago, right?"

I nodded.

She examined my wounds. "These weren't there when I saw you last."

"My fiance has been violent with me."

Her eyes widened. "I knew it. What has Uchiha been doing to you?"

I explained thoroughly what had been happening over the past few months.

"Forget about the police tomorrow. I will have Sasuke arrested immediately! I'm surprised you're still alive, Gaara. You're damn lucky."

"I know I am. Thank you Tsunade."

"You're very welcome. If you need anything else, or are unsure about something then call me."

"Of course."

"He will not get away with this."

Lee petted me softly. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Lee." I turned to Tsunade. "So I'm alright then?"

"Your wounds are inflamed. Keep changing your bandages regularly and please, please eat. If you don't start putting on weight, I will admit you to hospital where you will be force-fed."

"I want to eat! But Sasuke wouldn't let me!"

She nodded. "Right, I'm going to have to give you an injection. It's to give you some nutrients until Lee-san can feed you."

I nodded and held my arm out to her.

"You'll feel a little jab, but it won't hurt much." She said, pushing the needle into my arm. I winced a bit "I will come by next week to see how you're doing."

"Thank you."

"Who is looking after you?"  
"I don't know."

"I am." Lee said.

"Lee-san, you must take extremely good care of him. He's very weak, dehydrated and I'm surprised starvation hasn't killed him yet."

"I will ensure he recovers completely."

"Good."

Lee got up and showed her to the door. "Thank you very much for helping my best friend. I will take very good care of him until he is fully recovered." I heard him say.

"It was no trouble Lee. Phone me if something isn't right with him."

"I will do."

The door shut and Lee came back in. "I am afraid I have not got any food in, but we could always get a takeaway."

"I don't mind what we eat."

He handed me a leaflet. "Tell me what you would like."

I scanned through the menu. "Can I have Tsukimi Udon please?"

"Sure. What about a side order for both of us?"

"I really don't mind."

"You like white cream Korokke?"

"Yeah."

"I will order that then."

"What are you having?"

"Katsudon."

"Nice."

Lee proceeded to dial in a number, then minutes later, placed our orders. "It will take about twenty minutes." He told me. "I do not like takeaway food that much, but it is better than nothing." He looked at me. "And besides, you need fattening up."

"Yeah I do."

Being with Lee was magical. I loved him so much. He made me laugh, smile and most importantly, gave me lots of respect. He was always happy to go out o his way to help anybody who needed it and I just wished that more people in the world were so kind like him. I was looking forward to the food; but the thought of it made my stomach growl loudly and get more painful. I let out a moan.

"Are you okay, Gaara?"

"Yes Lee, I'm fine... just really hungry." I think forgot to add tired, shattered and stunned. Let's not forget madly in love with the sexiest man on earth.

"Aww..." Lee hugged me. "The food will be here soon, do not worry."

"Lee-san, are you okay?"

"Yes, why?"

"You're acting like you're not really here. Is there something on your mind?" I asked.

"Yes Gaara, there is."

"What is it?"

"Well you see, I am in lo-" We heard the door knock quite heavily. It cut Lee off mid-sentence and made us both jump.

"I will get it Gaara-kun." He said, answering the door. It was the man from the takeaway. Once we started eating, Lee seemed to had forgotten about what he was going to say. I didn't speak of it. He probably didn't want me knowing what it was anyway.

"Hey, Gaara-kun, I have found a fortune cookie!" He said as we finished eating

"Did it come with the food?" I asked.

"Must have." He passed it to me. "Here. You need it more than I do."

"I haven't had one of these in ages. Thanks." I opened it and read the inscription on the piece of paper inside.

"You will be married to a wonderful man." I read out.

Lee stared at me.

"Whatever. I don't believe in all of this 'hocus pocus' crap anyway." I said, laughing a little. Lee smiled.

000

Lee POV

Later on, we watched TV for a bit before I started to get tired. "Do you want to go to bed?" I asked Gaara. He was looking exhausted himself; but who could blame him after everything he'd been through?

"Yeah... I'm pretty tired." He replied, trying to get up. A whimper of pain escaped his lips.

"Let me help you." I said, taking hold of his arm and getting him to his feet. "Can you walk?"

"I think so. Thanks Lee-kun." He let go of me and staggered to the stairs, then suddenly fell. I tried to grab him by his waist to stop him hitting the floor, but it looked like I was grabbing his ass instead._ I bet he thinks I am a right pervert!_

L-Lee-kun." He said, looking embarrassed. His face was almost as red as his hair.

"S-sorry Gaara-kun... I did not want you to hurt yourself!"

"It's o-okay. Thank you."

I immediately took his hand and pulled him up, then held him. He was limp against me and could barely hold himself up. There was an awkward silence. "Look, you are really struggling here." I stated.

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I will carry you to your room." I lifted him carefully into my arms with ease and carried him up the stairs. There was that blush again! Now, I was really starting to believe that he meant what he said. "You can sleep in here if you want." I said once we were inside the room.

"Sure. I don't mind where I sleep."

"Good." I set him down on the bed. "Now what do you normally wear to bed?"

"Just my boxers."

"Well, Tsunade-sama said that you need to be kept warm. Are you sure a duvet is enough?"

"I'm sure. Thanks a lot Lee-kun."

"You're welcome."

He stared to remove his shirt.

"Do you want some privacy?"

"Please."

"I will bring you some blankets just in case you get cold. Shout me when you are done."

"Arigato."

000

My heart was pounding. Even to touch him made me feel faint. I lay in bed, unable to sleep despite how mentally exhausted I was. It was about three in the morning when I heard Gaara start crying. What was wrong with him? I rushed into the room he slept in.

"Don't hurt me... I don't want to die..." He sobbed.

"Gaara-kun, you are having a nightmare. Calm down..." My instincts suddenly took over me and I climbed into his bed, then held him in my arms. "Calm down..." I whispered. "I will protect you."

Minutes passed before he finally stopped crying. I didn't want to move. It was comfortable here and Gaara felt cold against my body, so I really wanted to warm him up so he could sleep more comfortably. As soon as he was warm, I would go back to my own bed.

My plan soon failed as drowsiness took over...

I awoke with a start to realize the bed was empty. Where was Gaara? Had he left? It was now half past four in the morning. I sat up, looking around.

Gaara came back in and stopped, staring at me.

"There you are!" I said. "I thought you had left or something."

"I had to go to the bathroom. Sorry I worried you, Lee-kun. I don't usually need to go in the night." Gaara said. "By the way... Um... I'm not being ungrateful or anything, but you... you were in the same bed as me when I woke up... I was just wondering why..."

"Oh, you had a nightmare and I was trying to calm you down. Guess I just fell asleep." I said, feeling my face heat up.

"It's okay. I don't mind." He said, climbing back into bed. "You've been keeping me warm."

"Heh... Guess I'll go back to my own bed now... let you sleep." I said, getting up.

"You don't have to go if you don't want to."

"You want me to stay?"

"Well, I am cold now you've moved."

I smiled and snuggled up to him. "Gaara?"

"Mm?"

"There is somebody I like. I really like them a lot, but they don't feel the same way and it breaks my heart."

"What's her name?"

"Gaara, this person is a male." I felt him stiffen in my arms.

"How do you know he doesn't like you the same way?"

"Because he's known me for a very long time and I know he only sees me as a friend. I love him so much."

Gaara moved away from me and sat up. His expression had changed. He looked upset.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm tired." He let out a shaky sigh and lay back down.

"I know you like the back of my hand, Gaara-kun. Please tell me what is bothering you."

"Lee-kun, I don't want you to think different of me. I'm happy you love somebody, even though it hurts me so much."

"This person I love is you."

He turned onto his side to face me. "W-what? Me?"

"I tried to be happy for you and Sasuke when you got engaged, but I could not help but cry every now and again. I love you more than you could ever know and you mean everything in this entire universe to me. I could never ever live a day without you because if I lost you, my whole life would break apart and I would die of a broken heart."

Gaara said nothing, he just stared at me.

"The dream you had about me kissing you... Well... it wasn't a dream."

Gaara gasped, then touched his pale lips tenderly. "Y-you kissed me?"

I nodded slowly. "Gaara-kun, I know it was wrong. You have barely just come out of a rocky relationship with Sasuke. I had no right to take advantage of you like that, but I could not resist. It is so hard to control my feelings when I am around you."

"L-Lee..."

"I am so deeply in love with you Gaara-kun. I will do anything and everything to make you happy because you are my most important person. I would die for you and I want to be with you forever."

He suddenly started to cry. Had I upset him? God I was stupid! "I-I am sorry, have I upset you?"

Gaara shook his head and sniffled. "N-no... it's just that... that what you said to me was so sweet..."

"Every word of it is true."

"Lee-san, I love you too... more than any word in the world could describe... I really want to be with you all the time. You make me smile! Sasuke never did that! He only made me cry. I've known all along that you're the one I will always love."

I thought my heart was going to burst! Had he really just said that? He loved me too? I couldn't resist; I pressed my lips to his, but as I tried to pull away, he moved forward. Then I realized he wanted the kiss as much as I did. My tongue slid into his sweet mouth and he moaned a little; the sexiest sound I'd ever heard in my life. I nibbled along his bottom lip, moving my mouth against his, causing such pleasurable friction. Now, I wanted more of him. We pulled away and I kissed his neck tenderly, causing a mewl to escape his lips. I felt something press against my thigh and looked down. He was developing a hard on. I let him go quickly. "Gaara, we can't do this."

"Do what?" He groaned, blushing as he covered up his problem.

"This. Be in a relationship. You are with Sasuke!"

"No I'm not..." Gaara held up his hand to show a missing engagement ring. "I don't love him anymore Lee. We are officially over and I never ever want to see him again."

"Have you told him you're breaking up with him?"

"Of course I have! I'm not stupid you know." He said, rolling his eyes. I could see he was in a lot of discomfort from his erection.

"You can take a cold shower if you want."

He groaned again, blushing more intense. "It's okay... I think I can forget about it"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

About half an hour later, Gaara woke me up, still fidgeting. "Are you okay?" I asked him.

"It's still there."

I felt really bad now. This was all my fault! He was turned on because of me being a complete idiot and kissing him. Why did I have to make things worse? "Gaara-kun, I am so sorry!"

"Don't be."

"I truly am. Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Well there is one thing..." He said, blushing.

"What is it?"

"Help me... with this." He said, gesturing over to his hard-on.

"You want me to... touch you?"

"You don't have to but... I just want it gone... I'm really tired."

I swallowed hard, feeling my face burn. "W-Well what do you want? A hand job or..."

"Hand job will do- just anything really."

"O-okay..." I said, sliding off his boxers completely, revealing his hard cock. Gaara leaned back against the headboard of the bed, breathing a little ragged. "J-just do it."

I nodded and grabbed his member, running my thumb over the tip. He let out an erotic moan and gripped the bed sheets. It had to feel so good for him, so I squeezed it and ran my hand up and down the whole length. Each gasp and moan he made caused my own hard-on to develop.

"Ahhnn... le...let me h-help you..." He panted, reaching his hand underneath my pants and underwear to squeeze my throbbing member. I moaned loudly, gripping his wrist. "Gaa...ra." He smirked. "Let go a minute." I obeyed and he moved closer to me, pressing his dick against mine, grinding them together. We both gasped in pleasure. I could feel Gaara's precum leaking out and leant down, licking it off his member.

"L-Lee-san!" He arched his back off the bed, crying out my name. It was the sexiest thing ever to escape his lips. I wanted to fuck him hard, fuck him until the end of time! Maybe a blow job was in order? But Gaara was ahead of me. I felt something hot and wet engulf my cock. Gaara swirled his tongue around the shaft and sucked hard. "A-ah! Gaara! O-oh God!" I tugged at his member harder, feeling him gasp out hot air around my shaft. Seeing his pleasure, I pumped it hard, gradually speeding up. His dick was hot and wet in my hand and he moaned erotically. He took mine out of his mouth, blushing a deep red. "I-I'm go...go...nna come s-s...oon!"

"M-me too!" I gasped, trying to prise him off my aching member, but he wouldn't budge and only sucked harder, pushing me right over the edge. I came hard in his mouth and he almost choked on it I think. "You can spit it out if you want."

He shook his head and swallowed it all. "You taste good."

"Thanks." Now it is your turn. I want to taste you." I said, placing my mouth on his cock. He moaned, gripping my shoulders. "L-Lee-kun! Ahh!"

I deep throated him and sucked hard, massaging his inner thighs. He spread his legs wider, giving me better access to his crotch and arched his back right up. This was fun. To make it more pleasurable for him, I licked the tip, tasting the salty precum and savouring the flavour. He tasted good.

"Lee... I'm gonna cum!" He gasped out.

"Mmmhh..." Suddenly, hot sticky wetness filled my mouth right up. Gaara screamed erotically, tightening his grip. I swallowed his cum right down and sucked every last drop from his now limp cock. It tasted salty and quite sweet. There was also an essence of something else. A nice flavour that I'd never tasted before.

"Did we really just do that?" Gaara asked, breathing a little heavy. He flopped down, pulling a blanket over himself.

I copied. "I think we did."

He smiled and nuzzled my jaw. "Aishiteru."

"Aishiteruze." I petted his hair softly and he closed his eyes for a long time. It took me some time to realize he'd finally fallen asleep. "Sweet dreams." I whispered, kissing him lightly on the forehead. Then, snuggled up to his back, wrapping my arms around his slender body. It was a way of reassuring him that he was definitely safe with me. Hopefully, he knew that already. I made sure I avoided touching his injuries at all costs- the last thing I wanted to do was hurt him.


	5. Goodbye

Face Down

Chapter 5

Goodbye

The next morning, I was quite surprised to find Gaara still sleeping innocently next to me. He usually got up really early in the morning; but I put his sleep-in down to severe exhaustion after everything that had happened to him. Poor little thing. I blushed on remembering the events that took place last night. Did that really happen? The cum on the bed sheets were evidence for that. "Gaara-kun..." I mumbled, stroking his soft face gently with my thumb. He made a cute moan and rested his hand on my arm. We lay there for a while as I gazed lovingly at his slumbering form, wondering what he was dreaming of. He looked content and happy, so it must've been pleasant. He then moved his hand off of my arm and turned to lay on his side. I decided to get up and leave him to peacefully rest because I knew I'd feel bad if I should wake him; especially whilst he was in such a weak state. He needed all the rest he could get. I climbed carefully out of the bed and got dressed quietly before going downstairs. It was eight in the morning and the sun was buried heavily behind thick, pale clouds. Looked like it was going to snow. The temperature really had dropped over the past few days and it was only October. Quite surprising really; it didn't usually snow until late November or early December here.

I went into the kitchen to get an energy drink before sitting down on the sofa to enjoy the peace. Thinking about this now, I realized that Gaara really was my soulmate. He was the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with; he was the one I wanted to marry and have children with and nothing could change these feelings. I was so deeply in love with him and had been for the past ten years. Even if he rejected any sort of proposal I made, claiming to only want to stay friends, I knew I would love him for eternity.

Later on, I went back upstairs to check on him. "Gaara-kun." I said softly, shaking him gently.

"Mmmh... what?" He opened his eyes. "Lee-kun..."

"It's half past ten. Do you want to get up?"

"Gomen! I slept in!" He sat up quickly, then gasped in pain, holding his abdomen

I helped him to lay back down again. "Do not push yourself, Gaara-kun."

He relaxed against the pillow.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm still sore, but I feel better than I did yesterday."

"Good. Can I check your wounds?"

He nodded.

Carefully and gently, I unravelled the bandages around his soft, pale abdomen. The bruise on his side looked slightly worse, but the wounds were gradually getting better. I then noticed that his leg looked a little weird. "Gaara-kun, what happened to your leg?"

"I dislocated it." He replied calmly.

"No wonder you couldn't walk yesterday. Shall I put it back in for you?"

"Please... Sorry for not telling you."

"Do not apologize." I said, pressing on the bone that had popped out of joint. With a sickening crack, it went back in quickly. "There you go... all better."

"Thanks."

"Sorry if it hurt you." I massaged his leg gently.

"It feels better actually. Thanks."

"Are your ribs still hurting?"

He nodded.

"Oh Gaara-kun... Look what he has done to you..." I just couldn't understand why anybody would want to hurt such a sweet, caring person.

"I'm okay now Lee-san. I'm okay because I'm with you and I love you."

I smiled and hugged him. "I love you too."

"Can I take a shower please?"

I blushed. Gaara... naked... in my house? Now that was a dream come true.

"Lee-kun?"

"Huh? Oh, of course you can. Sorry, I was miles away then." I replied sheepishly. I took hold of his arm and helped him up. "Remember not to get your cast wet."

"Thanks."

"I had to put your clothes in the wash because they were covered in blood. I will leave some of my spare clothes for you to wear on the end of your bed, okay?"

"Yeah. Thank you." He disappeared into the bathroom and I got some of my spare clothes out, then lay them on the end of the bed before going back downstairs. When I flopped back on the sofa, I couldn't get the images of Gaara in the shower out of my head... Maybe I could 'accidentally' stumble in and say I'd left something in there?

No. Gaara wouldn't want that... He'd probably call me a pervert and kick me in the nuts, then never speak to me again. I knew him too well and I knew that he always got violent if somebody was even just a little bit perverted with him like that. It was a different story with Sasuke though. It had to be...

I went back upstairs to make my bed and bumped into Gaara on the landing.

"Gomen, Lee-kun." He said. The towel from around his waist suddenly slipped off and fell to the floor. "Don't look!" He blushed like crazy and covered his crotch whilst scrambling around on the floor to get the towel.

I got a glimpse of his ass as I pretended to cover my eyes. God, I was such a pervert.

"Okay you can look now."

"Did I hurt you?" I asked. We collided pretty hard.

"No no. I'm fine. Are you okay?"  
"Yes. I will re-dress your wounds now and get you something to eat once you are dressed."

"Thank you." He sat on the bed.

"Sorry if I hurt you... I will be as gentle as I can." I said, starting clean his wounds with antiseptic. He flinched a few times if I accidentally touched a bruise, which I apologized for.

"All done." I said, tying his bandage.

"Thank you."

"How is the pain?"

"It's just my ribs... they're making it difficult to breathe"

"Okay, just get dressed and I will give you some painkillers."

He nodded and stood up. I left the room to give him some privacy. Once he was ready, he came downstairs and stood next to me in the kitchen whilst I was getting his pills ready.

"What is the matter?" I asked softly, turning to face him.

"Nothing, Lee-kun."

I felt him hug my back, so I turned around and kissed his forehead. "You are so cute."

He blushed. "Thanks... You're really sexy."

"Hah... you think? Not many people say that about me."

"Why not?" He brushed his hands through my thick, black hair.

I shrugged. "Well I'm not exactly attractive am I?"

"I think you're very attractive..."

"Thank you." I said, smiling and handing him his pills. "Drink all of the water, okay? Tsunade said you were dehydrated."

He nodded, sipping the water, then swallowing the painkillers with it.

I made us some cereal and we started to eat. "If you want any more, tell me." I said.

Gaara nodded. "Thanks. I'll do some chores for you after this."

"No, Gaara-kun. You need to take it easy."

"Please... It would make me really happy if I could-"

There was a sudden knock at the door. Gaara stopped mid-sentence and his face paled.

"Do not worry." I said to him, proceeding to answer it. Temari stood there with three shopping bags in her hands and a mobile phone pressed to her ear. A small female child stood shyly behind her. She had floppy blonde hair and large brown eyes. I sighed in relief. It wasn't him.

"Lee, I'm ever so sorry to bother you but I want to ask you a favour." Started Temari.

"Of course, what is it?"

"You wouldn't mind looking after Mai for the day would you? I can't find anybody to look after her whilst I'm at work. I know Gaara is here with you." She asked, gesturing over to the girl.

"It is no trouble at all."

She grinned. "You're a life-saver! Thanks! By the way, where is my brother?"  
"I just made him something to eat. Would you like to see him?" I asked, opening the door wide, allowing her to enter.

"Thank you." She said, smiling.

"Temari?" Gaara came into the hallway and hugged his sister.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine

He seemed to perk up a little with his family there. Mai was giggling and chatting to him and he was smiling.

"Where is tosser?" Asked Mai.

"Mai, don't say that word. Who are you talking about?" Temari scolded.

"Big tosser Sasuke."

The blonde woman rolled her eyes.

"He's not here." Gaara said.

"Good."

Temari gave Gaara a hug. "I don't understand why you didn't tell anybody about Sasuke abusing you! If he had killed you, I couldn't live with myself!"

"Well it's in the past now. He won't hurt me ever again."

"Damn straight he won't!" She hugged him again and kissed his forehead. "Gaara, I love you to pieces, yeah? So no more secrets! Promise?"

"I promise."

"I need to go to work now and I'll come by at five to pick Mai up. Bye." Temari blew a kiss to her daughter and I showed her to the door.

She smiled and left the house. I closed the door behind her.

I handed Mai to Gaara and stared at him. "She knows Sasuke?"

"Yeah. I used to babysit all the time and she remembers him hitting me. He tried to hit her before for getting in his way, but I managed to protect her."

"Sasuke-tosser is bad." Mai said, hugging Gaara.

"Please don't say that word."

"Sorry."

"He hit you in front of a child?" I questioned, completely shocked.

"Yeah."

That thought alone made me sick to the bottom of my stomach. What kind of sick bastard would hit his lover in front of a poor defenceless child? Not to mention then to trying and hit her! That was just bang out of order! The stupid twat. Excuse my French, but how much of a low life ass hole could he get? I would not stand for domestic nor child abuse and just thinking of what these two had been through because of Sasuke made me cringe.

"Okay Mai. What do you wanna do?" Asked Gaara.

"Can we play ninja?"

"Ah, not today. Sorry sweetie."

She pouted. "Why not? You promised!"

"I'm not feeling good."

"Aw... then can I have a cuddle instead?"

"Sure." He sat up and pulled her onto his lap, hugging her. She giggled and hugged him back.

I smiled and knelt next to them. "Wow Gaara. You're really good with kids." I could tell he'd make a wonderful parent.

"Thanks." He replied, smiling.

Mai climbed off of him and sat in front of me. "What is your name, mister?"

I smiled at her. "Call me Lee."

"Lee-san!" She giggled, staring up at me with her innocent chocolate orbs. "My name is Mai."

"You are very pretty, Mai-chan."

"Thank you!"

"Do you like movies?"

"Yes."

"Want to watch one?"

"Yes please."

"How about we watch Princess Mononoke?"

Gaara looked at me a little weird. "Isn't that a little...gruesome? She's only four."

"You're right... Spirited Away?"

Mai nodded. "That is my favourite movie!"

I smiled and got it out of the DVD case before putting it on. Halfway through the film, Gaara suddenly moved closer to me and rested his head on my shoulder.

"Are you okay?" I asked him.

"Yeah..."

"Are you cold?"

He nodded.

I pulled him onto my lap and wrapped my arms around him in a hug. "Is that better?"  
"Yes... Thank you, Lee-kun." He said gently, snuggling into me.

"No problem."

000

Gaara POV

After the movie ended, I started to think about what had happened; then, I realized something terrible. "Lee-kun?"

"Yes?"

I kissed his lips softly. "I'm so sorry."

"Sorry for what?"

"It's my fault that Sasuke hurt you yesterday... I'm putting you in danger just by being here." I said, feeling guilty. "That's why I'm going back to Suna. You need to forget about me because I'm not doing anything to help you. Because you have such a strong desire to protect me, it's going to turn out really bad. Sasuke hates us both, but if I leave, he'll stop trying to kill you. It's me he wants. Not you." In no way did I want to leave Lee; but I knew it was for the best. I was practically throwing him in harms way and now I realized that, I wanted to say goodbye to him. It wasn't fair on him looking after me in such a tender, caring way whilst all I ever did was fret about Sasuke coming to get me. It broke my heart to even bear to think about never seeing Lee again, but at least I would have the piece of mind that he was safe.

Lee gently tilted my chin up. "Look at me. In no way are you putting me in danger. I want to protect you with my life because you are my most important person. It is my choice if I want to throw myself in front of any sort of danger to ensure your safety."

"Y-you don't understand! I don't want you to do that for me! I'm completely worthless, so why even bother to protect me at all?" My heart was aching agonisingly, it burned away inside my chest and tears fell down my face. This was the hardest thing I'd ever had to say to somebody.

"I protect you because I love you!" Lee said.

"Lee-kun, I am leaving because I love you! Please understand that! I don't want you to get hurt..."  
"If anything is going to hurt me, it would be losing you. Gaara-kun, you do not realize just how much I love you! If you were to leave right now, I would die from a broken heart."

It wasn't like Lee could ever visit me if I did move back there anyway. Sunagakure was the capital city of the Land of Wind. A desert country. You had to be filthy rich to even visit there, let alone live there. My father was the Kazekage. A ruler of the land. That meant my siblings and I got free access to move between all of the countries as we pleased; even though our father had died many years ago.

Lee suddenly kissed me on the lips passionately and slowly. He slid his tongue partially into my mouth and I closed my eyes, pushing my tongue up against his as they fought for dominance. We moved our lips against each others for a few minutes, but eventually had to pull away for air.

"You're making it hard to say goodbye..."

"That is because we are never going to say goodbye... and besides... Sasuke will be arrested soon because Tsunade has him! Everything will be fine!"

"It's not just him! It's his gang!"

"They will not bother with you if their ringleader is gone! Please don't go Gaara... I love you so much!"

I smiled at him through the tears. "You're better off without me." Suddenly, I felt really guilty for making him so upset, but I couldn't put him in any more danger than I already had done.

I hugged him. "Thank you for everything. I will pay you back the money once I get a job in Suna."

"Do not pay me anything."

I sniffled slightly and wiped away some tears. "Maybe we'll meet again. Who knows?"

"We will meet again. I will find you."

I got up and left the house with Mai. It was freezing out, so I picked her up and held her in my arms to stop her getting cold.

"Occhan, where are we going?"

"Want to visit uncle Kankuro?"

She nodded.

"Guess what? I'm coming to live at Suna with you."

"Then we can see each other more often?"

"Yes."

"Why are you crying?"

"I'll just miss somebody if I leave... that's all."

"Is it Lee-san?"

"Yes... how do you know?"

"He loves you lots and lots Occhan... you shouldn't leave him."

"I have to Mai. I don't want Sasuke to hurt him."

"Sasuke is a tosser."

I smiled a little. "Yes he is."

"What foul language for a four year-old. Don't you agree, Karin?" Came a dark male voice. My heart practically dropped to the floor and a shiver went up my spine.

"Very much so, Sasuke-sama." A female voice joined the conversation.

I put Mai down. "Go in that shop over there."

She nodded and walked away. I turned to face Sasuke and Karin. "What do you both want?"

Karin grabbed my wrist hard, making me cry out in pain.

"I just want to talk to you." Sasuke said, walking right up to me.

I stepped back. "I don't want to listen to anything you have to say."

He growled. "Shut up! Listen to me, or I'll kill you."

"F-fine!"

"I still love you so much. I miss you so much and my heart feels like it's breaking without you. Can we put the past behind us and start again?"

"Sasuke-sama... I'm sorry but I can't forgive you after what you did."

"Just because I hurt you a few times doesn't mean I hate you."

"You locked me in the attic to starve to death, you put me in hospital on numerous occasions and you killed our child inside me. How can you possibly think that I'll ever take you back?"

"Gaara, we're engaged!"

"Were."

"Were? You can't just cancel the marriage!"

"Watch me."

"Please, Gaara! I love you!"

"I said no!"

He growled and slapped me across the face. "You will do as I say!"

"Let me go! I don't love you anymore!"

"You just say that to annoy me!"

Since I still had the plaster cast on my right arm, I couldn't punch him, but I did manage to hit him over the head quite hard with it. "Let me go!" I repeated, feeling completely helpless.

"And why should I do that?" He asked menacingly, punching me in the stomach.

I suddenly found it difficult to breathe as he threw me to the floor, stamping on me and kicking me. At one point, I thought I was going to die, until I heard a child's voice shouting my name.

"Mai!" I choked out, feeling the blood rise in my throat. "Get away from here!"

My little blonde niece stood there looking terrified. "Occhan!"

"I said get away!" I was so afraid that Sasuke would hurt her so I had to do everything in my power to stop that from happening. I screamed in agony as he kicked at my broken ribs repeatedly. I started to cry from the pain.

"I'm going to snap every single bone in your weak little body, you stupid slut!"

I screamed even louder, hoping to alert somebody in the streets, but Sasuke put his hand over my mouth and pushed his knee into stomach, gradually increasing the pressure. I coughed up blood as he pushed all his weight down.

"How about I fuck some sense into you?"

I screamed into his hand, feeling tears in my eyes.

"What's the matter? Don't you like a good fuck anymore?"

I bit into his hand, causing him to pull it away from my mouth. I took the opportunity to try and escape, but Karin held my arms down and placed a knife on my neck. "Move and inch and I'll slit your throat. Got it?"

I nodded shakily.

Sasuke ripped off my shirt and bit on my neck hard, drawing blood. I winced in pain. "Please... please don't do this..." I started to cry.

"Shut up. I bet you missed my cock didn't you?" He punched me hard in the stomach and I turned to the side, vomiting.

"Stop fucking throwing up!" He hit me in the same place again and ripped off my jeans. I felt the freezing air attack at my exposed body and massaged my now aching stomach.

"Gaara, I always did love you..." Sasuke removed my black boxers, making me blush and feel completely violated. He placed his huge cock at my entrance and pushed it all the way in once, quite hard. I screamed in pain as I felt myself tear slightly.

"And I know you still love me..." He thrusted into me again harder, causing another scream to escape my throat.

"I-I did love you S-Sasuke-kun... I l-loved y-you a lot... y-you made me f-feel s-special, then you changed. Became m-more violent and s-started to abuse me. It hurt Sasuke! I felt completely worthless and now I realize that you only u-used me for your own personal satisfaction!"

"Oh, Gaara... You know I love it when you are weaker than me. If only we did get married... Then I would have been fucking you all night long..." He licked my cheek. "You really are stunning."

"Get your filthy hands off of him!" I heard a voice that I could trust. Lee charged at Sasuke punching him to the ground and whilst Karin wasn't looking I kicked her to the floor. She immediately hit me in the leg, causing me to fall over. I quickly pulled up my pants, trying to salvage the little dignity I had left.

"You've got some fucking nerve!" She hissed, dragging me back to my feet.

"Let go of me, you stupid whore!"

"What did you just call me?" She placed a kunai at my throat. "Repeat it! I dare you!"

"Stupid whore!"

She pushed the kunai in hard and I felt a trickle of blood run down my neck. "Actually, maybe I should create some fear? Then you would apologize." She shoved me toward the edge of the valley. Below, there was a partially frozen river with really strong rapids. I was doomed if I were to fall in there. Doomed.

"Say you're sorry!"

"No!"

"Fine, you can fall into the river." She grabbed the back of my shirt and pushed me so I was right on the edge. I was unusually off-balance too, that day.

"No..." I whimpered. "Please... I can't swim!"

"No? Then I'll kill that man before your very eyes." She pulled out her kunai and aimed it at Lee. My instincts immediately took over and I threw myself at her. She flew right off the edge of the cliff and unfortunately was holding onto me. I fell with her into the icy depths.

As soon as I hit the water, it felt like a thousand white-hot needles were stabbing me over and over until I couldn't breathe. I floated back up to the surface, coughing violently and started to try and inhale, but hands pushed me back under the water. I thrashed violently, feeling my lungs burn from lack of oxygen and my head spun. The hands pushed me further under before I managed to move them off of me. I came back to the surface, gasping for air and coughing up water.

"I'll fucking drown you!" Hissed Karin's voice. She pushed me under again, this time, stronger. My vision was fading and I had no strength left in my body to fight her off.

000

Lee POV

I dived into the water after Gaara. Had he really just risked his own life to save mine? I could only pray that he wasn't badly injured or...dead.

The cold water didn't bother me at first because my mind was focused on Gaara only and I knew I had to save him fast. Ahead of me, I saw Karin. She was thrashing about desperately and I caught up to her; which didn't take long due to the current being so strong.

"Where is Gaara-kun? What have you done with him?" I hissed.

"Don't worry. He should be dead by now."

"Dead?"

She smirked and pulled Gaara up from under the water. "Here's your little slut."

Tears filled my eyes and I lifted him out of the water and held him to my chest. How could Karin do that? How could she drown him? "The only slut here is you!" I shoved her under the water, but felt a punch in my stomach. The water around me clouded red slightly and that was when I realized I'd been stabbed.

"Don't worry, freak. You'll be joining him soon anyway."

I glared at her, holding my abdomen as the warm blood coated my hand. It hurt so bad.

Karin smirked and threw the now bloodied knife at Gaara, but I moved him away so he wouldn't get hurt and felt the blade pierce into my side. More blood poured out and I began to feel dizzy from the steadily increasing pain. Suddenly, ahead I saw a waterfall. It would be deadly if either Gaara or me fell in there, so I had to save us. Luckily, the current carried us to a shallow curve in the river. Fortunately, it was different for Karin though; she went in the completely opposite direction, headed straight for the waterfall.

"Hang on... It is going to be alright." I whispered to Gaara, kissing his lips. They were so cold. I couldn't feel any body heat on him at all. To my relief, I saw some bankings approaching and grabbed onto a tree branch that stuck out, then placed Gaara onto dry land before pulling myself up, watching as Karin screamed, falling over the edge of the waterfall. Hopefully, it would kill her. I was dripping wet and absolutely freezing; shivering so hard to a point where it hurt. My wounds carried on bleeding profusely and the kunai stayed embedded in my side. Despite that, I had no time to worry about myself at the moment. There were more important things to sort out. I rushed over to Gaara and carried him away from the water, placing him on the soft grass. He was unconscious and deathly pale; but more worryingly, wasn't breathing. Fearing the worst, I checked his pulse; relieved to find that it was still there, but it was so weak that I could barely feel it. I performed mouth-to-mouth in a desperate attempt to get him to start breathing again. What if I was too late? Tears slid down my face at the thought of losing him. What would I tell his family? His friends? That he drowned in a river because I didn't get there in time to save him? "Please wake up... please!" I begged, now full-on sobbing. I carried on doing mouth-to-mouth and I would keep on doing it until he woke up. If he died, I couldn't live anymore. He meant everything in this entire universe to me. He was my soulmate; the person I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

Suddenly, I felt his arms weakly push me away as he turned onto his side, violently coughing up all of the water in his lungs. He was shaking so uncontrollably that it just wasn't human. I patted his back firmly to make sure he coughed up all of the water, then pulled him into a gentle hug to try and warm him up. His body was so cold and he kept moaning quietly as the shaking took over and got worse. I kissed him softly on the neck, but he squirmed away slightly.

"Wh-What i-is th...this?" He asked, sounding confused.

"I am warming you up." I kissed him again, nuzzling under his jaw before running my lips down his neck. "You almost drowned."

"Nn...ngh..." He tightened his grip on me.

"Are you injured?"

He shook his head and looked up at me. "Y-You?"

"I am fine... we need to get out of here." I winced, both my wounds sending a white hot pain up my spine. They were serious injuries, I knew it and the pain was horrible. "A-Ahh..."

"W-What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing." The warmth of the blood was spreading quickly; making me aware of the puddle of blood beneath me and that I had little time left.


	6. Safe

**Face Down**

**Chapter 6**

**Safe**

**Gaara POV**

The only thing I could register was that I was cold. Not just a little. In fact, I was so cold that it felt like somebody was stabbing me all over my body again and again. I quickly glanced at Lee and immediately knew that something was wrong. Was he injured? His face held a lot of pain and his body was tensed up. There were also tears in his eyes, then I noticed the blood pooled on the floor. Was it my blood? I felt no pain anywhere except for the freezing cold. Lee couldn't be injured could he? I really hoped not. We were in the middle of nowhere with no access to medical help. My eyes caught sight of a drip of blood joining the puddle. It came from underneath Lee's jacket. Shit.

"You l-lied to me..." I whispered, now noticing the kunai sticking out of his side.

"What are you talking about?" He questioned. I could hear the pain in his voice.

Sighing, I reached down and touched the crimson liquid. It was still warm which indicated that the wound was fresh, then held my hand to his face. "B-Blood... It i-isn't mine..."

Lee smiled and gently pushed my hand back down onto my lap before patting it softly. "It is only a small cut. Do not worry about me."

"L-Let me s-see."

"I swear, Gaara-kun... It is fi-"

"Let me see!" I repeated sternly, raising my voice.

He nodded and moved back so I could see the extent of his injuries. My vision was a little blurry and my head felt funny, but I could still clearly see two wounds on Lee's shaking body. More worryingly, the kunai stuck in his side was in pretty deep now I could see properly. It was embedded firmly too. There was so much blood everywhere. "Shit..." I muttered. "Why... w-why did you d-do th-that to... yourself?"

"I-It was Karin who-"  
"No, I m-meant... why... w-why d-do y-you have to p-put yourself i-in h-harms way?"

"Because if I did not jump in after you, then you would have drowned!"

"Th-Thank you for s-saving m-me..." I kissed him on the lips. "I'm g-going t-to get s-some help." No way was I leaving him without medical attention any longer. I feared he may die without it; or if he carried on bleeding so profusely. Something had to be done immediately.

"How sweet. I remember when you used to kiss me like that, Gaara." Came Sasuke's voice. "You were so loving back then... what the hell happened to you?"

I gasped and turned around to face the Uchiha. Where the hell had he come from?

He stepped closer, smirking evilly. "Looks like the interfering bowl-cut doesn't have long left."

I turned and looked at Lee. He was getting paler and paler from blood loss with each passing minute. "Don't y-you c-call him s-such a name!" I growled at Sasuke and moved defensively in front of Lee. If he got injured seriously again, I doubted his body could handle it and losing him would quite literally kill me.

"Move out of the way so I can finish him off."

"N-No!"

"Fine, I'll kill you too."

"Leave u-us in peace!

"If you can't love me now, then let me kill you... Then I'll kill myself. That way, we will be together forever. Just you and me."

I shook my head. "Y-You're crazy!"

"And you're a slut!" He hit me across the face. I felt blood trickle down from my lip and moved back closer to Lee.

"Gaara-kun, d-do not fight..." Lee said softly.

"I'll be fine. Stay out of the way."

"N-No! I promised I w-would not let h-him hurt you again!"

Sasuke grabbed the front of my shirt and lifted me off the ground.

"Let him go!" Lee yelled weakly.

Sasuke turned and kicked him in the side, causing him to cry out in pain. "Shut up."

I punched Sasuke repeatedly with my good arm. He made me so angry! It wasn't so bad him hitting me, but then injuring Lee even further than he already was... The fucking evil bastard. He lifted my body higher and flung me at a wall. My vision faded out slightly and I coughed up a bit of blood. Whilst I was recovering, Sasuke approached Lee. "You leave him alone!" I screamed, throwing myself in front of my injured love.

"Move it, Gaara."

"No."

Sasuke smirked and pulled out a gun. "I said move!" He hissed.

"W-What are you doing? You crazy fuck!" I held onto Lee, trying to move us both away, but a sharp, almost deafening crack of a gunshot rattled behind me and the bullet missed us by literally an inch. I moved faster now. Lee was quite heavy to me because I was still pretty weak and it was a struggle to move. It seemed like the only escape was the river again and I couldn't swim, but Lee could and I had to get him to safety. He was the only thing that mattered to me at the moment.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Screamed Sasuke, pulling the trigger again. This time, I felt the bullet pierce into my leg and cried out in pain, falling face down into the water. That was when I realized that Lee had fallen unconscious. This was really bad. I ignored the pain in my leg and managed to pull us both into the deeper water. The current was stronger than ever now, so I ripped off some of the bandages that were wrapped around my body and used them to tie Lee's hand to mine. That way, I had a piece of mind that we wouldn't get separated.

"Gaara!" Sasuke was wading towards us, gun still in hand. He fired another shot and missed. The sound hurt my ears and I winced.

"Get back here!"

I turned to look at him. "Just leave us alone!"

"What makes you think I'll do that? I want you back!"

"Well, I hate to break it to you, but I want Lee!"

"Oh, well tough shit, I won't leave you alone!" He fired the gun twice again; this time, one of the bullets just missing my eye. The bastard was serious.

"Sasuke please stop!" I begged. "Just stop!"

"If I cant have you, then I want to see you both dead in front of me."

I didn't want to believe that Sasuke was being such a crazy psychopath, but he was. I knew he was a little crazy before, but it seemed that since I'd left him, he'd gotten worse. Much worse. Another bullet flew past me and I was becoming tired from half-carrying Lee and also trying to teach myself to swim with an injured leg. "Come on Lee... you have to help me here... I can barely hold my own weight." I said softly to him. This was it. I hardly had any fight left in me. It was then I realized Sasuke was inches behind me and that his gun was pointed at my head.

"Just get it over with." I said.

"At least let bowl-cut go. I'm sure he'd be traumatized to wake up and see you lying dead next to him with half of your head missing."

"I won't leave him."

He smirked and pulled the trigger back. "See you soon, Gaara."

Just like I expected, no bullet came.

"What the-"  
"Looks like you're out of ammo, idiot."

"How did you-"

"I've been counting how many bullets you used. That's a six-barrel isn't it?"

"How do you know it's a six-barrel?"

"Oh, I recognize that gun from all the times you shot me with it when we were together." I replied sweetly, giving him a smirk.

He suddenly smashed the the gun into my back. "Ah!" I cried out in pain.

"I can still kill you without using a fucking bullet!" He continued to batter me with the weapon. My vision kept fading in and out of focus at the impact. My heart sank right down as I saw the waterfall quickly approaching ahead. Sasuke sneered. "See you, freaks." He jumped out of the water, clambering onto a nearby rock and waving as Lee and I fell over the edge of the waterfall. We hit the lake at he bottom with painful force and I couldn't even scream. Lee's weight was pulling me down slightly because I was so light. Desperately, I thrashed around, managing to get him to the surface of the water, but that meant I had to go under so I could get him to safety. Mustering up all the strength I could manage, I held my breath and went under the water, hoping to wash up to some land and save us. I couldn't swim at all; every time I tried, it just exhausted me and I soon needed to come up for air. My lungs were burning painfully and I started to get dizzy, but suddenly felt something in front of me. A rock surface! Using the last of my energy, I pushed Lee onto the ledge, gasping for air and coughing violently. In an attempt to comfort him, I held his hand, stroking it softly. My body was completely numb because I was so cold. Mind you, I deserved it for putting him through that. The bandages tying our hands together were the only thing keeping me from falling into the water because I had no more energy left to hold myself up.

"Lee-kun, please wake up..." I whispered. "Let me know you're okay." Luckily, he was breathing, but it was shallow. Also, I noticed the bleeding had stopped. That was a good sign. I didn't want to pull the knife out of his body in case it caused more bleeding and any more blood loss to him could be deadly. "I love you."

**000**

The blackness slowly faded out and now I was surrounded by water. My head was resting against the same rock ledge as before and then I realized the events that just happened weren't part of a horrible nightmare. Coming to my senses, I lifted my head up, feeling water drip from my hair and run down my face. Lee was still laying beside me. His breathing was a lot better, but he remained unconscious. I pulled myself up onto the ledge, but fell back again. The pain in my back was too much and I coughed slightly, finding breathing suddenly very difficult. It was so dark now and even colder than before. My body was numb and I shivered violently and against my own will.

"Lee-kun..." I mumbled, stroking my lover's hand. Tears filled my eyes and I clung closer to him, feeling terrified. Usually, having him close made me feel secure, but for some reason, I couldn't relax. Something was bothering me. Something I couldn't think of.

A person jumped down beside me. Sasuke. He had come to finish us both off. I whimpered and buried my face in my arms.

"Gaara." Said a female voice. A reassuring hand was gently placed on my shoulder. Curiously, I looked up, still feeling very anxious. The figure was blurry, but I could make out long blonde hair and dark chestnut eyes.

"It's Tsunade." Spoke the figure. "How are you feeling?"

"Okay..." I replied. Thank God it wasn't _him._

"I need to get you both to hospital immediately." She said softly.

"G-Get Lee there first... h-he's more badly hurt than I-I am."

Glancing over at Lee, her features became worried and started to check his vitals.

"Is...is he okay?" I asked nervously.

She bit her lip. "You're right, Gaara. He's hurt badly... I don't want to leave you here on your own."

"I'll be fine."

"Yes but there is a risk of you drowning. I daren't pull you out of the water yet because you might die from cold without my assistance."

"I said I'm fine."

She sighed. "Just be careful. Don't get out of the water."

I nodded. "Go."

She put Lee's arm around her shoulders and I could hear her calling a medical team on her phone as she left with him. Ten minutes later, she was back and I could barely keep my eyes open.

"H-How is he?" I asked, feeling delirious.

"They've stabilized him, but he remains in a serious condition."

I felt sick. This was all my fault. I didn't deserve to live. Tears built up in my eyes.

"I need to get you out of the water now. Give me your hand."

I held my shaking hand out to her and she pulled me up. The cold air hit me so suddenly that it forced the air right out of my lungs and I couldn't breathe.

Tsunade checked my pulse. "You have a severe case of hypothermia. How long were you in the water?"

"I-I d-don't re...remember..." I replied breathlessly

She placed an oxygen mask over my face. "This will help. Lee was the same, but he had passed out from blood loss when we got to him. Anyway, I have some good news."

I took the mask off to speak.

"Leave it on." She said, moving it back to it's original place and started to warm me up with her chakra. "The news it that Sasuke is in jail. He turned himself in a few hours ago."

Turned himself in? It wasn't like him to be honest about something. Even so, I was relieved to hear that he'd no longer be a part of my life. Now, Lee and I could finally be happy.

"Gaara, I'm so sorry it has taken this long to capture him." She said. "It must have been awful for you to endure this long wait."

I removed the mask. "Don't apologize."

She smiled. "I hope I can make things better for you."

"You are."

"That's good. How is your breathing now?"

"I think I'm okay now."

"Great. Did Sasuke hurt you?"

"He shot me."

"Where?"

"In my leg."

She examined the wound quickly. "I need to get you to the hospital just to confirm you're well enough to go home. The bullet might have broken your leg, but hopefully, it's just a flesh wound."

I nodded. "Am I allowed to see Lee when we get there?"

"It depends if he is strong enough. I'll see what I can do."

"Thanks."  
"By the way, are you both in a relationship?"

I blushed. Was it really that obvious? "K-Kind of..." I mumbled. She must've thought I was a right slut, I mean, I'd only just left Sasuke and now I was in love with Lee.

"I've seen the way you look at each other. Don't worry, Gaara. He'll be fine." She said reassuringly.

"You don't think I'm a slut?"

"Of course not! Why would I think that?"

I shrugged. My niece suddenly came into my mind. I'd left her with Sasuke's gang! Oh shit. Lee had obviously left her too! "W-where is Mai?" I asked, panicking.

Tsunade smiled. "She's with her father and she's fine, just a little shaken by what happened."

"B-But I left her with... Oh God! I'm such a fucking idiot! What was I thinking?"

"Gaara, she's fine! She managed to run away from Sasuke's gang and Kankuro found her." Tsunade said. I'll tell you now, Gaara, if it weren't for that little girl, I wouldn't have found you or Lee at all. Lee wouldn't have survived any longer if we didn't find him when we did and you would have died from hypothermia not long after."

"Really?"

"Yes. Your niece told Kankuro that you had fallen into the river and Lee had followed to save you. She also said that Sasuke was back."

I smiled. She was such a little angel. I made a mental note to treat her to some money or candy the next time I saw her. She definitely deserved a treat after that.

"That's how I made the arrest on Sasuke. I found him and confronted him, then he admitted everything and told me to arrest him for what he'd done. He said he was ashamed of himself for being like that and hopes that someday, you'll forgive him."

"Forgive him? No way." Seriously, how could I after all he'd done? He could rot in hell for all I cared. I knew I'd been a bad person in the past, maybe this abuse was punishment for it? Now it was all over, I could finally breathe.

"I don't blame you, Gaara. I'm sure you'll have a happy life with Lee. He would never hurt you."

I nodded. "That's why I love him so much."

She smiled and helped me to walk. "He is such a good person. Risking his life to save somebody."

"Yes." I felt so guilty still for getting him in this situation. "It's my fault anyway. I hate myself for it. Maybe if I could save myself, it wouldn't have happened. Why am I so weak?"

"Hey, if it's anybodies fault, it's Sasuke's. You're not weak either. You're strong for enduring all of this abuse for years on end. Any other person would have fallen apart. Lee loves you, that's why he is so desperate to protect you. If it was Lee in your situation, you'd want to protect him, wouldn't you?"

I nodded.

"Well there you go. Don't blame yourself for what happened. Sasuke is the only one you should be angry at."

"You're right." I sighed.

**000**

Once at the hospital, I was glad to find that my leg wasn't broken, but the bullet had damaged the muscle and I would have difficulty walking properly on it for a while. Also, my arm had to be re-plastered because the cast got wet and broke off. I really didn't care about myself because I was dying to see Lee. I couldn't help but let my mind slip back to him, he was so handsome, sexy, strong and very talented. He had done so much for me and I had been through so much pain recently that I really didn't care any more. Lee was always there for me and because of that I cared so much about him. My dream would be to one day betroth him and bring up beautiful children; you know like a normal family does? Why did it have to be classed as only man and woman to do this? What was so wrong with man and man? I could never understand that. I didn't ask to be born the way I was, but to me, being Gay wasn't a bad thing. It was good. I love being me. I was grateful to be alive and even more so, incredibly lucky. The thing that kept me happy was the thought of seeing Lee-kun again. I was so worried about him.

"Gaara, there's something you should know." Tsunade said.

"What?"

"The house you lived in with Sasuke, it's now yours since he has gone to prison."

"I don't want it." I said bluntly. All that place held for me was pain and fear. No way in hell could I ever set foot in the damned building again.

She nodded. "I understand, but you still have all of your belongings still there. Don't you want them back at all? You'll need them won't you?"

"Yeah." All of my clothes were there, my laptop, mobile phone, books and most importantly, my money. I inherited quite a bit from the death of my father.

"Can I see Lee-kun now?" I asked Tsunade as she finished stitching up my leg.

"Yes, not for long though. You need to rest and so does he." She led me to his room and I rushed straight to his side. Tears filled my eyes at the sight of all the tubes and wires sticking out of his body. It was heartbreaking.

"Don't be alarmed. The tubes are to aid his breathing." Tsunade said. "I'll be back in five minutes to come and fetch you back to your bed. I need to ensure you aren't suffering any illnesses from the effects that the cold had on you."

I nodded, not really listening and stroked Lee's hand gently. He looked a little better than before as he wasn't so pale. "Please be okay... please... I love you so much."

He remained motionless except for the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed.

"It's taken so long for me to realize how much I love you and now, I'm so sorry for not seeing that sooner or I would have been engaged to you, a wonderful man instead of an evil, cruel bastard like Sasuke." I suddenly thought back to when we first met...

**000**

**Flashback**

_As usual, the sun was shining bright on a hot summers day I really just wanted an ice cream but I had no money. I had given the last of my change to my brother so he could buy a drink. I sat on a bench and began to cry because the sun was so hot and I was really hungry._

"_Why are you crying?" Asked an unfamiliar voice. A boy stood in front of me. He had shiny jet-black that was braided at the back; allowing his bangs to fall freely above his bushy eyebrows. His eyes were large, round and a warm onyx colour. He looked very sweet and caring the way he looked at me, full of concern and pity._

"_I-I want an ice cream but I don't have enough money to buy one." I sniffled._

"_Well it looks like I will be buying you an ice cream then."_

_I smiled at the young boy and stopped crying. "Thank you."_

"_No problem. Now stop crying okay?" He flashed me a wide grin and pulled me to my feet. "Race you there!"_

"_You're on!"_

_We started running and I was surprised by how fast he was. He beat me easily._

"_Better luck next time." He grinned again and ordered two ice creams._

"_You must be awesome at sports." I said to him once we'd sat down on the park bench with our icy treats._

"_Heh... not really. I do not have many friends to appreciate what I do. They think I am weird."_

"_You're not weird."_

_Thank you, and what is your name? I am called Rock Lee, but you can just call me Lee for short."_

"_Nice name. I'm Gaara."_

"_That's really cute."_

"_You think?" I smirked. Lee obviously had no idea who I really was or he'd be running for the hills now. Just like everybody else..._

"_What about your friends?" He asked. "What are they like?"_

"_I don't have any friends."_

"_Really? Why is that?" _

_I sighed, not knowing what to tell him. "Promise you won't run away when I tell you?"_

_He nodded. "I promise."_

"_I am a Jinchuuriki."_

_He looked a me a little oddly. I expected him to turn around and run away, screaming, but he stayed, surprisingly. "Really? You are?"_

_I nodded. "Lee-san, I'm not crazy... or dangerous... I won't hurt you or anything... people seem to hate me. Even my own uncle wants me dead." Now, I had resorted to explaining who I was inside, forgetting about the monster inside me because I was that desperate for a friend; just somebody to acknowledge me that it had rendered me incoherent. My mouth was moving too fast before I could even register what I was saying. All these years of being alone had made me act a little insane. Hope I didn't creep him out too much with all of my talking._

"_What about your parents?"_

"_My mother is dead and my father is always working away. My siblings and I hardly ever see him, so I don't know if he cares about us or not. Our uncle mainly looks after us." The last time I saw my father was about two days ago._

"_I bet your dad loves you."_

"_I don't really think so, but thanks. Do you have parents?"_

_He shook his head. "They both died when I was a baby, but my sensei looks after me."_

"_He is nice to you, right?"_

"_Of course! He is like the father I never had and he means so much to me."_

"_Good. How old are you?"_

"_I am eight. You?"_

"_Six."_

"_No wonder you are so cute!"_

"_Cute?" I blushed slightly. Nobody had ever called me cute before._

"_Yes, cute. Do you wear make-up?"_

"_No, why?"_

"_What are them black rings around your eyes?"_

"_Oh, these? I have insomnia. It means I never sleep." My bijuu prevented me from doing so. As a result of that, I had permanent black marks around my eyes._

_He gasped. "Never sleep? How can you never sleep?"_

"_From fear."_

"_Oh... do not be scared."_

"_It's not that easy." I sighed._

_He suddenly giggled. "Them rings around your eyes make you look a little bit like a raccoon."_

"_Heh..." I blushed again._

"_Do you want to be friends? I really like you."_

"_S-Sure... I've never had a friend before. I really like you too."_

_He hugged me. That was also something I had never experienced. It made me feel significant, like I really did belong in this world, regardless of my 'state' so cautiously, I hugged him back, feeling ecstatic that today, I made my first friend. I just hoped that he wouldn't leave me._

**000**

I smiled at remembering that day. My life had changed forever in the best way possible because of him. He had saved me from eternal loneliness. It was only when I was about fourteen that I realized I liked him more than a friend. Now looking at us, I realized that all along, he had felt the same way but never decided to act on his feelings until we were much older. He was probably as confused as I was.

"G-Gaara..." Lee said weakly.

I gasped and looked up. "Y-You're awake? Oh thank God!"  
He smirked. "Were you worried?"

"Of course I was!"

He coughed slightly. "W-What happened?"

"I-It's my fault... I never should have left... Sasuke attacked us both and Karin stabbed you." I explained, feeling unbelievably guilty.

Lee nodded. "I remember... It is not your fault either." He hugged me. "Were you injured?"

"Hey, I'm not the one lying in a hospital bed! You just focus on getting yourself better before worrying about me. I'm fine."

"Please tell me. Were you injured?" He repeated.

"I just got shot in the leg, but I'm fine. It's not broken."

He sighed. "That is a relief. I am glad you are not seriously hurt."

I nodded. "How are you feeling?"

"It hurts quite a bit but I am sure I will be fine."

"Do you want me to ask a nurse or doctor to give you any pain relief?"

He shook his head. "It is fine. I have had injuries a lot worse than this before, Gaara-kun."

"But you're still in pain..."

"It is nothing too bad. Do not worry okay?"

"No Lee." I said sternly. "I'm fetching you pain relief whether you like it or not."

He chuckled and stroked my face softly. "Just stay here a little longer... please."

I smiled and blushed slightly. "Only for you."

Lee changed the subject "By the way, are you still leaving?" He asked sadly.

"Not for the world... unless you want me to go."

"Do you really think that I would want you to leave after all we have been through together? And besides, it was me who desperately tried to stop you. I love you so much... come here."

I leaned down slightly.

"Closer."

I obeyed.

He pressed his lips to mine gently. "Aishiteruze." He said after we pulled away.

"Aishiteru." I said back, smiling.


	7. Settling down

**Face Down**

**Chapter 7**

Lee smiled my favourite smile and pulled me onto the bed with him. I lay beside him and snuggled into the welcoming warmth of his body.

"I am so glad that you love me." He whispered, nuzzling my neck.

"How could I not love you?" I replied softly, giggling.

He wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tight. "You are so cold..."

"So are you."

"In that case, we will have to keep each other warm then, huh?"

I nodded sleepily. "Hai... I enjoy your company. I love you so much."

"I love you more."

"No you don't."

"Yes I do, Gaara-kun."

I blushed. "Then I love you the same."

"Good." We lay there for a few minutes, snuggled up together. I lay my head on his chest, listening to his heart as the steady rhythm acted as a sort of lullaby to me. He was my comfort. My eyelids became heavy with drowsiness.

"You know what?" Came Lee's deep, seductive voice.

"Mmh?" I hummed sleepily.

"I think that we should make the current living arrangements permanent."

I turned my head to look at him. "Are you proposing that we live together?" I asked with a smirk.

"Hai." He nuzzled my cheek. "You will be the perfect person to fill that empty space in my bed. Winter nights are always colder than usual without somebody there to snuggle." He said gently. "Anyway, since I love you so much, then I think that it will be a good idea. You love me too right? What do you think?"

"I accept the offer - of course I love you." I replied happily, trying to mimic Lee's formal way of speech.

"Good." He grinned.

I giggled lightly.

"I am feeling better already now."

"Hey, don't get your hopes up. You need to rest okay? Just as Tsunade said." I reminded him.

He sighed. "I know, but I cannot wait to get out of here and be with you."

"Me too."

There was a light knock on the door and Tsunade came in a few seconds later. "You both look so cute together." She remarked with a warm smile as she walked over to the bed.

I blushed and smiled back awkwardly.

"Heh... Thanks." Lee said.

"Anyway, how are you feeling, Lee? You gave us quite a scare you know. We didn't think you'd pull through."

"I am feeling great thanks to my Gaara-kun here – and of course thanks to you."

I blushed again.

"That's great. Anything either of you need?"

I sat up and looked at Tsunade. "Um... could you bring him some pain relief please? He's too stubborn to admit he needs it, but I can read him like a book."

"Of course I can." She injected some morphine into one of the tubes attached to Lee's arm. "There. You'll feel much better soon."

"Arigato." He said sheepishly.

"No problem." The blonde woman turned to me. "Are you ready to go back to your room?"

"Yeah. I won't be staying overnight will I?" I asked.

"Probably not, but we need to examine you for illness and internal bleeding. Depending on what we find, it will determine whether you can go home, or if you have to stay overnight." She explained, helping me up.

"I feel fine."

"Then that's a good sign."

I smiled and looked at Lee before kissing him on the lips. "See you soon."

He nodded. "Keep safe, Gaara-kun."

Tsunade led me out of the room and we walked down the corridor. I hated hospitals late at night; they were always full of drunks, drug addicts and violent people. Already, they were stumbling about the wards, hurling abuse at the poor, terrified nurses. It reminded me of when Sasuke used to get drunk and act violent toward me. Mind you, he was violent in any state of mind; Especially if I was hanging around. Alcohol made him much worse though; he'd rape me for at least five hours straight and then beat me up afterwards after a few drinks. What a life. Anyway, I didn't need to think about him anymore. He was out of my life for good and it was just Lee and I. That thought made me smile to say the least. I couldn't wait until we both got better and started again with our lives.

Once back in my room, Tsunade listened to my chest for a few minutes with a stethoscope. "Your heartbeat is still extremely fast." She said worriedly. "Are you panicking about anything?"

"No." I replied. "As I said before, I feel perfectly fine."

"It's probably because of the hypothermia. Lay down and I'll fetch you some more blankets."

"Thank you." I said, obeying her orders.

"Are you in any pain?" She asked as she covered me over with a few more layers.

"My leg obviously and my back and chest."

"Can you breathe properly?"

"Not really... it hurts because of my ribs."

She then listened to my breathing. "Okay. I don't think you're well enough to go home."

I sighed.

"I'll keep you in overnight for observation and we'll see how you are in the morning."

"Right."

"Get some rest and shout me if you need anything."

"Will do."

The door opened. "Occhan!" Squealed the voice of a hyperactive four year-old. Mai trotted up to the bed. "Up, up!" She babbled, waving her arms in the air.

"Mai..." I picked her up and sat her on my bed. Temari and Shikamaru then came in.

"She really saved your butt there, huh?" my sister asked, grinning.

"Yeah..." I replied, petting Mai's blonde hair softly. She yawned and curled up to my side before promptly falling asleep.

"I'll leave you all to talk then. See you later, Gaara." Said Tsunade, leaving the room.

Shikamaru pulled up a chair and sat beside my bed. "Heard the news about Sasuke. It's great, isn't it? He was a troublesome fellow after all..."

Temari smacked him on the back of the head. "Troublesome? That 'troublesome fellow' almost killed my baby brother!"

"Ow... Fine... jeez... you're worse than my mother!"

"I feel like your mother sometimes!" She smacked his head again.

"God, woman! You're killing me!" Shikamaru then smirked and turned to me. "Think yourself lucky you're Gay, then you won't have to deal with PMS-ing wives."

"Yeah but I might have to deal with PMS-ing daughters." I replied with a smirk.

"True." He gasped. "Oh crap, that means that I'll have two nagging women..." He looked at Mai warily. "Somebody up there must really hate me."

"Yeah but Mai is cute, Temari isn't." I stated.  
Temari smiled sweetly, which only meant one thing: Ass-kicking time. "Watch your mouth ototou..."

"You know you love me really, Tema." I said, smiling.

"Of course I do. Gaa."

"You haven't called me that since we were kids."

She grinned and hugged me. "And you haven't called me 'Tema' since we were kids."

"Good point." I said, feeling Mai snuggle closer to me. "She looks so much like you Temari, It's uncanny."

She grinned. "Lots of people say that."

Shikamaru laughed. "Yeah, I have two beautiful ladies in my life. How lucky am I?"

"Oh Shika..." Temari chuckled and started to kiss him.

"Get a room." I said jokingly.

"You shouldn't be staring, pervert." My sister stuck her tongue out playfully and carried on making out with her husband.

It sort of made me wish that I had a family of my own. A husband for definite, then maybe a son or daughter depending on how I felt about kids.

"Anyway, when are you allowed home?" She asked.

"Tomorrow if my condition improves." I answered.

"Well I'll come by in the morning and see what's happening. See you later." She leant down and hugged me. "Get some rest."

"I will." I hugged her back.

Temari then picked Mai's sleeping form up and carried her out of the room. "Bye."

"See ya."

The door closed and I sighed, wrapping the blankets around myself tightly to keep warm. Sleep took over a few minutes later.

000

I woke up the next morning after being roused from my slumber by the sound of the usual busy hospital. The sun was blaring heavily through the slightly ajar window and normally, I would have had enough of the sun by now with me growing up in the desert, but today it felt so nice. Still feeling quite weak, I forced myself out of bed and walked down to Lee's room so I could say one more goodbye before Temari picked me up. When I got there, I was happy to see that Lee was sitting upright in bed and looking much healthier than he had done in the past day or so.

"Gaara-kun!" He grinned and looked up at me.

I rushed over and hugged him. "How are you feeling?"

"I feel much better thanks!" He hugged me back. "What about you?"

"Great thanks."

"Good." He kissed my forehead and pulled me onto the bed with him. I giggled and nuzzled his cheek. Moments like this were the ones that I wished would last forever. Because of Lee, I now knew what love really was and it showed that Sasuke never loved me – only when he wanted a 'good fuck'

"So we finally did it huh?"

Lee nodded. "Now we can finally relax and focus on getting ourselves sorted out."

"Hai. I love you so much."

"I love you more."

"Really?"

"Of course."

I blushed and smirked. "Then show me."  
"Oh, you-"

We both turned at the sound of the door opening and turned around. My brother stood there, frozen in his tracks. "Uh... this is a bad time, right?"

I pulled away from Lee, now sitting on the bed. "No, don't worry about it. What's up?"

"Well I went into your room to see if you were alright to go home and you weren't there, so I came here in hope to find out where you were from Lee..."

"Oh. Right."

"So, you're ready to come home?"

I nodded. "Well I feel fine, but I think Tsunade will want to check me over again."  
"Want me to fetch her?"

I nodded again. "Please."

He smiled and left the room.

"Gaara-kun, where will you be staying?" Lee asked.

"Probably with either of my siblings." I answered.

"Well you can stay at my house if you'd like... remember how I said I'd like to make the living arrangements permanent?"

"Let's wait until you're better first, huh?"

"True, but if you want to stay there, then here are the keys." He placed a set of keys in my hand. "The one for the front door is the smallest silver one."

"Thank you."

"No problem."

Haruno Sakura came into the room and smiled. "Aww, you two look so cute together!" She remarked.

"Heh, thank you Sakura-chan." Lee said awkwardly with a slight blush.

She giggled and turned to me. "Tsunade-sama is currently busy with another patient, so she sent me here instead to check you over."

"Ah. Well here I am."

She smiled and checked my breathing and heart rate. "You might have a minor chest infection coming along but I'll prescribe you some antibiotics and it should clear up within a few days."

"Okay, thank you."

She wrote out a prescription and handed it to me. "Take it to the pharmacy as soon as you can."

"Hai."

Kankuro helped me up off the bed. "So he's alright to come home?" He asked Sakura.

She nodded. "Just keep an eye on him and if there are any problems, phone us."

He nodded and smiled. "Thanks."

I moved away from my brother and leant down to kiss Lee on the lips. "I'll come back later."

"Okay, see you soon Gaara-kun." He said, smiling.

Kankuro smirked. "Come on Gaara, Temari wants to see you."

"Hai." I blew Lee a kiss and followed Kankuro out.

"Don't you miss it?" Kankuro asked once we were in the car.

I fastened my seatbelt and stared at him. "Miss what?"

"Just being teenagers again, having no troubles..."

"Yeah... If I could change one thing, I would have never met Sasuke."

Kankuro growled. "Don't even mention his name, or I will end up murdering someone..."

"Oh, that reminds me... I need to pick up some of my belongings from... the house."

"So you want me to drop you off there?"

I nodded. " Please."

"Alright. But I'm coming in with you in case anything happen-" He was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing. Pulling over to the side of the road, he pulled out the phone and answered it. "Hey Kiba, what's up?" There was a pause. I could hear Kiba's muffled voice on the other end of the line. "Shit... okay, I'll be right over." He ended the call.

"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly.

"Akamaru got hit by a car."

"What?"

"He's alive, but Kiba wants me to drop him off at the vets to check him over."

"That's understandable. Look, you go and I can walk from here."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." I replied, getting out of the car. "Give Akamaru a hug for me."

"I will."

I watched my brother drive away and started to walk up the derelict street toward the house. It stood at the end of the street and it really was hard to miss such a huge, cold building. I shuddered at the mere sight of it, but pulled myself together and continued heading toward it. Once I reached those dreaded oak doors, remembering what they held behind them, another shiver went up my spine before I pulled out my key and unlocked them. A cold chill greeted me as I stepped in – along with an eerie silence.

I took a deep breath and flicked on the hall lights for a little comfort. On the small table next to the staircase, I saw a packet of bullets that had been opened and an air rifle tossed carelessly on the floor. Those were the weapons Sasuke used to scare me into doing things for him like buying his drugs, organising meetings with his criminal gang and basically doing all of the dirty work that he couldn't be bothered to do himself. What did I get in return? Broken bones, a dead child and starvation. Thanks, bastard.

I picked up the discarded gun, loading it with bullets and proceeded to carry it around with me for protection in case any of Sasuke's gang were hanging around. It was a huge mansion after all and they could've been hiding anywhere, ready to jump out and attack me. Couldn't blame them though. Now that Sasuke had been thrown in jail, they were jobless and at risk of being caught by the police themselves. Then again, why did they want to become bounty hunters anyway? Or drug dealers? It was pretty ridiculous. They obviously had no family or friends to think of; or even a life. The bad thing about the company was that once you signed up to join, you couldn't leave. Why? Because the eldest member of the Uchiha family, Madara, was a master of torture. He would kidnap the person and torture them to death, or until they begged him to kill them. Of course, when I met Sasuke, I was a bit of a 'bad boy' and dating somebody from such a dangerous family was like a massive adventure to me. I was only fourteen at the time and little did I know of how bad my life would become in the future years once I'd got involved. I'd only met Madara once because he was Sasuke's uncle and he was terrifying. Though extremely kind to me, something about him wasn't right. His eyes were strange. I could have sworn his irises kept turning a deep shade of crimson every now and then. His hair was long, black and spiky, the colour slightly darker than Sasuke's. His skin was ivory and there were bags under his eyes from lack of sleep. In general, he was very tall and thin, having the kind of figure that would creep people out a little. His dress code was sort of gothic. The one time that I saw him, he was wearing a long, black, leather trench coat with chains hanging down the collar, criss-crossing over his chest and dark, ripped skinny jeans. He also had this freaky smirk that looked like it had come right out of the pits of hell; a look that quite basically said: 'One wrong look and I'll slit your throat'. The thing about him that frightened me the most is that he was a complete pervert. I remembered when I was undressing in my room to get ready for bed, I saw him watching me through the door which was slightly ajar. It certainly wasn't just having a quick peek either, but full-on checking me out. It was disgusting since he was about sixty years old and I was only nineteen at the time. He didn't walk away when I caught him. He just smirked and licked his lips until Sasuke shouted him downstairs for something. I didn't mention this to Sasuke though, or anybody for that matter just in case things got out of hand and either of us ended up getting killed. I also didn't want to cause any family conflict. That would have ended messily.

An abrupt, loud knock at the door almost scared me out of my wits. I bit my lip and peeked through the curtains to ensure it was nobody dangerous. A man stood there with long, raven hair pulled back into a neat ponytail, letting his bangs fall freely over his face. Sasuke's brother. Uchiha Itachi. He looked straight at me through the gap in the curtains.

"Open up, Gaara!" He snarled.

I nodded quickly at him. No point in pretending he didn't see me because I knew that if I didn't let him in, he'd force entry whether I liked it or not. I unbolted the door with shaking hands and opened it cautiously. "H-Hello... Please come in." I said shakily, stepping aside to let him in

Itachi strode in and slammed the door, bolting it behind him

I gulped.

"Where is Sasuke?"

I bit my lip and backed away.

"I said, where is Sasuke?" He questioned again, grabbing me by my throat and slamming me into the wall.

"I-In jail..." I stammered.

Itachi raised an elegant brow. "Jail?"

"Yes... p-please let me go."

He ignored my request. "Why is he in jail?"

"Attempted m-murder."

"Oh whom?"

"My best friend and I."

The older Uchiha growled and raised his fist to punch me. "You turned him in?"

I shook my head. "N-No, please believe me! He turned himself in!"

"That fool! Our business is now in jeopardy!" He dropped me and started pacing up and down worriedly, mumbling curse words repeatedly under his breath.

"I-I'm sorry." I said awkwardly.

He looked at me and glared. "Come here."

I abruptly stood and made my way over. Was he going to hit me? Or worse, kill me?

"You need to get out of here Gaara. If Madara finds out about this, he'll kill you. You know that, right?"

"Hai... But It was Sasuke who-"

"I know, I know, but you know what Madara is like. He'll take it the wrong way."

I nodded. "You're right."

"Why don't you go back to Suna?"

"There is somebody here that I care about a lot who lives here in Konoha. I can't leave that person for the world... He's done so much for me."

He smirked. "You've been cheating on my little brother?"

"No. I've left him."

"For good?"

"Hai."

"Why?"

"I'd had enough of the abuse and last week, I tried to leave, but it made him angrier and he locked me in the spare room, left me there to die. I managed to escape through the window and he's been trying to kill me ever since." I explained sadly.

Itachi frowned. "You're a good person, Gaara. You don't need to be dragged into all of this, it's not fair. I'm so sorry for what my brother did to you. Really, I am."

"It's not your fault. It's mine. I was foolish to love him."

"Well that makes to situation worse that you left him. Now, Madara has more of a reason to kill you. You must leave as soon as possible before you end up dead."

"I know, Itachi."

"Promise me something."

"What?"

"When you leave, don't ever come back."

I gulped.

"Promise me, Gaara! Swear on it!" He hissed, grabbing the front of my shirt.

"Okay... I promise."

"Good. Now get your belongings packed away and leave.

"What is the deadline?"

"Four days."

"Right." That was plenty of time to escape.

"Oh, and if you don't leave within the given time..." Itachi started. "Then I'll make it my personal duty to kill you."After Itachi left, I felt fear knot up in my stomach. Four days left to go back to Suna. I had to have a word with Temari about it. Her, Shikamaru and Mai were due to leave Konoha by the end of the week and hopefully, I could get a lift back there. I planned on using my own money to buy a small apartment or something. Any accommodation would do. I just needed to get back to Suna as fast as possible, get back to Kankuro and Temari. I needed to go home where I was safe and far away from Sasuke; or anybody from the Uchiha family for that matter. I was truly grateful to the older Uchiha brother for all he had done for me. It showed that he really did have a kind heart.

My worst fear was leaving Lee because of course, I loved him with all my heart, but the main reason was that I couldn't bear to see him hurt again. It wasn't fair after all he'd done for me. If only Sasuke was more like him; A hard working, kind and caring young man.

I quickly rushed upstairs and into my old bedroom. On the floor lay Sasuke's clothes and mine were neatly folded in my dresser. I opened the drawers and stuffed my clothes into a bag quickly before unlocking the safe and retrieving my money. After finishing packing, I carried my bags downstairs and went out the front door, locking it behind me. Outside, I phoned Kankuro.

"Yeah?" Came his answer.

"Hey, how is Akamaru?" I asked.

"His leg is broken, but Kiba is taking good care of him and there are no serious injuries."

"That's good. I'm going to Temari's now, okay?

"Yep. See you later."  
"Bye. Give Akamaru my love."

"Will do."

The line went dead and I hurried to my sister's house.

000

When Temari let me in, she led me towards the kitchen and I saw she'd made me something to eat, but I felt sick from what just happened with Itachi. "Where are Shikamaru and Mai?" I asked, poking at my food with my chopsticks.

"They've both gone swimming. I didn't want to go because you know how much I hate water. Anyway, it's nice for them to have some father daughter time." She said with a smile.

"Yeah..."

"What's wrong? You haven't eaten anything."

"I'm not really hungry."

"Come on, you need to eat. Tsunade said you need to put on weight."

I managed a few mouthfuls and felt worse than ever. "I want to come back to Suna with you." I mumbled.

"What?"

"I said I want to come back to Suna with you."

She looked at me strangely whilst finishing cleaning up the kitchen. I got up and stood beside her awkwardly, avoiding her gaze.

"Why the sudden change of heart?"

"Konoha is fun and all, but I believe Suna holds more opportunities for me since our father was the Kazekage and I suppose we get special privileges, right?"

She nodded absently. "Well... yes... But I thought you were happier here... With Lee..."

"I was. But I just want to get Sasuke out of my mind forever. This place holds too many bad memories for me. Besides, his family live here."

She stopped cleaning and turned to face me, then tilted my chin up so I looked her in the eyes. "What happened? I know something is wrong."

"It's nothing."

"No, Gaara. Tell me. Tell me now!"

I bit my lip and let out a sigh. "Itachi paid me a visit when I was collecting my stuff together. He told me that Madara is out to kill me because of what happened with Sasuke and that the only chance I have left of survival is if I go back to Suna."

She paled. "Shit... not him..."

"Please, I need to get out of here."

"I know you do." She embraced me. "It's safer for all of us. When is the deadline?"

"I have four days."

"Alright. Well we will be leaving tomorrow then. You'd better let Lee know about it."

I nodded a little sadly, heartbroken to leave him, but it had to be done. I didn't want to die, nor put him in danger, so it really was the best option. After debating with my sister, I left her house and went to the hospital to break the news.


	8. Gomenasai

**Face Down**

**Chapter 8**

**Gomenasai**

**Lee POV**

I didn't know why Tsunade had insisted that I stay in hospital – I felt fine! Completely fine! Could she not see that? I let out a sigh and lay back against my pillows. She told me that since my condition had improved so much, I'd probably get to go home later that night or the next morning. I smiled as Gaara came in. The smile was short-lived though as I noticed his anxious and upset expression.

"Hey..." I said gently, taking his hand and pulling him onto the bed with me. "What is the matter?"

His sad eyes met mine. He sighed softly and shakily before answering. "I-I had a run in... with Uchiha Itachi."

"What? Did he hurt you?" I demanded, checking Gaara's face and body for injuries.

"Stop that." He pushed my hand away irritably. "I'm fine."

"He must have done something to you for you to be in this mood."

"Well... he told me that Madara is after me and that he's out to kill me."

I gasped. "Why? What the hell did you do? It is all Sasuke's fault!"

"You think I don't know that?"

"Do not worry, I will protect you."

He got off the bed and glared at me. "No Lee, you've done enough for me! Look at yourself!"

"I do not care!"

"No, the problem is solved anyway."

"How?"

"I'm moving back to Suna."

Something inside me snapped. Why did this always have to happen? We were happy for some time and then something always had to come along and ruin it! "Why? I can protect you!"

"Not from him you can't! You haven't a clue who Madara is and what he can do to you!"

"I know very well that he is bang out of order!"

"Lee, you can't change my mind. I'm sorry. It's for your safety too."

"N-no! Gaara, no!" I felt my heart breaking.

He started to cry and kissed me. "I'm sorry. I love you too much to put you in danger anymore."

"Please... I c-cannot l-live without you!" I sobbed, hugging him tight.

He shoved me away. "You're making it harder to say goodbye... Please... I promise I'll write to you."

"It is not the same! We were going to live together!" My heart was aching so much I could barely breathe.

"And you think it's my fault that we can't? Well it is! I fucked up Lee and I've messed around with your feelings. I'm sorry! You are the kindest, most wonderful man I've ever met and you deserve so much better than me! Move on and forget about me. I'm sure people are dying to date you right? You'll find the right person, settle down and have kids."

"Please... p-please... do not go..."

"Lee, I will always love you. Remember that. I'm sorry. This is goodbye." He turned and walked away without a second glance.

"That is fine then! Leave me! I never want to hear from you again, I never loved you anyway! I hate you!" I yelled after his retreating back. Right now, I didn't care how he felt, I didn't care if I just shattered his heart into a million pieces – He had shattered mine! I wanted him to know how painful and suffocating it felt to have your feelings torn to shreds like that. Gaara turned lightly, there were tears in his eyes. "I'm sorry." He whispered.

"You say that, but you do not mean it! Get out!" I hissed.

He frowned and suddenly came back to me. There were tears running down his face. "I love you." He pressed his lips to mine. I shoved him away angrily, causing him to fall over. "Do not touch me."

His eyes held fear and hurt, but I didn't care and watched as he left, actually feeling glad that he felt so upset. It would serve him right. I lay in my bed, wanting to run out and chase after him, but my anger held me back. Why should I run after him? I didn't need him at all, he was the one who needed saving all the time, not me. He was the one who would be dead if it weren't for me.

There was a tender knock at the door and Sakura quietly came in. "Lee, what happened?" She asked, seating herself on the edge of my bed.

"Gaara just left me!" I sobbed. "I will never see him again!"

She put her arm around me. "Why did he leave you?"

"Because he is in trouble with Uchiha Madara! He is moving back to Suna!"

"Well... can't he take you away with him?"

I shook my head. "He will not allow me to because he is afraid I will get hurt again... The only thing that is hurting me is the fact that he is gone!"

She frowned, hugging me properly. "Lee, I'm sure it's for the best if he went away... I mean, wouldn't it be better for him to truly get rid of Sasuke? He is starting his life anew and you need to accept that."

I sniffled. "But he promised we'd start our lives together! After all I have done for him and he decides to leave me with a broken heart. I hate him... I really hate him."

"Come on, you don't mean that..."

"I do... I really hate him... I told him I never wanted to see him again."

"Lee, just remember something."

"What?"

"If it weren't for him, you would be dead. He shoved Karin off of the cliff in order to save you, also throwing himself off in the process. He got shot to save you and nearly broke his leg, not to mention getting you out of the water first whilst he himself almost froze to death."

I started to feel a little guilty now. Sakura was right. "Well I got stabbed twice trying to save him."

"And he could have just left you to die in the water, but he loves you and he wanted to protect you after all you've done for him."

I let out a sigh and stared into her honest, caring eyes as she comforted me. I lay my head on her shoulder, inhaling her sweet scent. "Sakura..."

"Lee, I know you don't want to admit it, but Gaara owes you his life and you owe him yours. You can't treat him like he means nothing to you. I know you love him and I know he loves you too, but you're both to blind to see that!"

"I may be blind, but I know he is no good for me. I save him from getting killed by Sasuke and then he just leaves the country! He has got some nerve to do that to me, and you know what? Next time he is in trouble, I will not be there and I will not go out of my way to help him ever again!"

"If you're that bothered about him leaving, why don't you go with him?"

"And let him have the satisfaction of me running back to him? No way. He deserves nothing more from me. That is it. We are over for good!"

3

**Gaara POV**

I left Lee's room, my emotions finally exploding from me. I rushed out of the hospital, sobbing for all I was worth and collapsed against the wall. As much as it pained me to leave him, I had no other choice. Either that, or die. It broke my heart when he said he hated me, but who could blame him? Maybe he was right to hate me, maybe he was right to say that he no longer loved me. I had caused him so much pain in the past and to be honest, I knew I had this coming to me.

If only I wasn't so damn stupid! Honestly, how stupid was I? Lee loved me at one point; finally someone I could trust again, somebody who wouldn't beat the living daylights out of me. I guess all I had to do was to focus on leaving this hell, I wished with every inch of my heart that Lee was coming too. I loved him so much despite those hurtful words he said to me. I knew that Lee was the one who saved me, he was the one I owed everything to. He changed me, he gave me the strength to stand on my own again. I would miss him with every inch of my soul, but the best way to repay him was to prevent him from getting into danger again. Uchiha Madara was a master of torture. Nobody messed with him. Even the mere thought of Lee being tortured to death because of me made my stomach churn. The tears started to pour more but the pain started to cease. After a few minutes, I calmed down enough to walk back to my sister's house. We had a plane to catch tomorrow and I needed to rest for the five-hour flight. As I got through the door, I was greeted by a pair of small arms wrapping themselves around my leg. "Occhan!" Mai squealed excitedly.

I smiled and petted her dark blonde hair lovingly, trying to take my mind off Lee. "Did you have a good time at swimming?"

She nodded. "I went down the big person slide with daddy!"

"Really?" I picked her up and hugged her. She smelled strongly of chlorine. Tears built up in my eyes as Lee's face came into my head once again. Temari came into the room and frowned. "Hey, what's the matter?" She asked me, rushing over.

I broke down sobbing and Temari took Mai off of me. "L-Lee said he hated me... a-and he never wanted t-to h-hear from me a-again!"

"I'm sure he didn't mean that."

"He did! I know by the way he said it!" I didn't want to say anything about him shoving me over because I knew she would have a fit and probably kill him herself.

She put Mai down and hugged me tight. "Try not to think too much about it. You can still keep in touch with each other right? Did you say anything remotely hurtful to him?"

"I don't think so. Look, I don't care anyway. If he doesn't want me in his life anymore then that's fine. I don't want to upset him further."

She frowned. "Well... dinner won't be ready for another half an hour so try and finish your packing, then I'll shout you downstairs to eat."

"I'm not hungry." I replied.

"You need to eat."

"I'll eat when I'm hungry."

Temari frowned and picked Mai up again, carrying her into the lounge.

I went into the spare room upstairs where I was staying and started to pack my clothes into a medium sized case. Now looking at them, I realized they were ruined – mainly from Sasuke ripping them, but also from bloodstains that didn't wash out properly. After the packing was done, I lay down on the bed and wiped away the tears. I wasn't going to cry for anyone anymore. I couldn't - it only made the pain worse. Lee didn't love me anymore, Sasuke was in jail and I had only my family. I was thankful for them and I was thankful to Lee for helping me gain enough confidence to leave Sasuke before it was too late. Now, I was finally going home to Sunagakure – and how I wished Lee could come with me. He didn't want me though, if I went back to the hospital, he would only get more upset and I didn't want to hurt him any longer.

"Gaara, can I come in?" Came Temari's voice from outside my door.

"Yes." I said.

She walked in and handed me a plate of food. "Here's your dinner. Make sure you eat at least some of it, alright?"

I nodded. "Thanks."

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine."

"Are you warm enough?"

"Yes thanks."

"Alright, if you need anything, you know where I am." She said as she left the room. I poked at the food for a while with my chopsticks, not really putting anything in my mouth. After what happened, I just wasn't hungry and I really didn't care if they hospitalized me again. I deserved it. After a few mouthfuls of my dinner, I took my plate downstairs and washed up for everybody when Mai was shoved in my arms.

"Gaara, can you take her to bed please? Shikamaru and I need to... Umm... get ready for tomorrow." Temari said with a light blush on her cheeks.

"More like you're going to 'have some fun!'" I smirked.

She gave me a light push. "Stop being a pervert and put Mai to bed."

"Yeah, yeah. Say goodnight to your parents Mai."

"'Night Ma, 'night Dadda!" She yawned, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Goodnight Mai." They both said.

I smiled and carried her upstairs and into her room.

"Get lots of sleep Mai, we're going home tomorrow." I told her as I tucked her into bed.

She looked up at me and hugged her duvet. "Is Lee-san coming too?"

I shook my head.

"Why not?"

"Because he has his friends and his foster father here and he doesn't want to leave them behind."

"But I left my friends at home whilst I was here."

"Coming here is a holiday. If Lee moved to Suna, he wouldn't go back to Konoha often enough and he wouldn't be with his friends anymore would he?"

She shook her head.

"Now get some rest." I said kissing her forehead.

"'Night Occhan!"

"Goodnight Mai." I said, closing the door and leaving to go to my own room. In there, I read for a little while, trying to ignore Temari and Shikamaru having sex downstairs. It was a wonder they didn't wake Mai up with the noises they were making. I blushed, focusing back on my book again until they stopped.

3

**Lee POV**

The next day, I was finally discharged from hospital, though Tsunade didn't fail to remind me to take it easy for the next week or so until my wounds healed properly. My heart was still raw from the day before and I knew deep down that I couldn't live without Gaara. As much as I hated to admit it, I loved him with every inch of my soul. I needed him to make my life complete. Tsunade put her hand on my shoulder just as I left my room and I turned round to stare at her.

"Lee." She said.

"Look. I do not need sympathy. I have to accept that I will never spend the rest of my life with Gaara and that I will never seen him again."

"Surely there's a way for you both to see each other."

"No. I never want to see him again anyway. Ungrateful bastard."

"You're a mess. You need to go home and rest."

"Rest? Yeah, I would be able to if Gaara did not break my heart." As I was just about to walk out of the doors with Neji and TenTen, I saw Gaara sitting on the steps outside. He looked up once he saw me. "Lee-sama."

I glared at him. "Get out of my sight."

"I just wanted to say goodbye."

"Yeah? Well you really do put the 'good' in goodbye."

Gaara moved closer.

TenTen stood in front of me and glared at him. "Stay away from him. You've hurt him enough."

"I-I wanted to say goodbye... please."

Neji also moved towards him. "Back off, or I will hurt you."

Gaara's tear-filled eyes met mine. "Lee..."

"You heard them. Stay away from me." As much as it pained me to see him so upset, I had to let him go. He needed to learn a lesson.

He turned away hastily, sobbing. "L-Lee... I-I promise to phone you e-every day..."

"Do not bother. Now leave my sight!" I watched as he ran down the street and my heart shattered more and more with every step he took. Tears filled my eyes and I closed them, wishing to just hold him one more time.

TenTen frowned and put her arm around my shoulder. "It's alright Lee. He isn't worth it. Come back to my house and I'll make us all some tea. You're coming too Neji."

"I need something stronger than tea after this."

She smirked. "Oh, I have some sake too."

"Good." I said glumly. "I need it."

All three of us walked back to TenTen's house, my mind was on Gaara the whole way there. Neji and I sat down on the sofa and TenTen went into the kitchen, then came back with a crate of sake. "Drink up boys!"

I took out a bottle and started to drink it. "Thank you TenTen."

"Hey, don't mention it. Now forget about your troubles and let's have fun."

A few bottles later and I was feeling the effects of the alcohol as the pain of heartbreak had started to weaken. I just hoped that the effects were long-lasting... just until I got over him. I reached over for another bottle, but Neji's hand grabbed mine.

"Lee, you've had enough." He said sternly.

I growled. "Let go of me!"

"Ugh, fine. Get yourself completely wrecked. It's not my fault and I won't stop you."

"Yeah, leave me just like he did!"

"I will until you sober up!" And with that, he stormed out of the house.

TenTen frowned and handed me a bottle. "Here, have as much as you like."

I smiled. "Thank you."

Soon, I could barely remember my own name... it was Lee, right? Why the hell was I here anyway? I took another swig of sake and turned to TenTen who was giggling. "What is it?" I asked her.

"Just you." She replied with a smirk.

"What am I doing?"  
She blushed as I moved closer to her. I could feel the heat radiating off of her body. She was so warm.

"L-Lee, what are you-" She was cut off mid-sentence as I pressed my lips to her mouth. If felt her face heat up and pushed my tongue through her lips. She let out a moan and relaxed, then wrapped her arms around me. "Mmh... I love you... so much..." I breathed out between kisses.

"L-Lee..."

I climbed on top of her, kissing her neck gently and started to caress the soft flesh with my tongue.

3

**Gaara POV**

I slept through the majority of the flight, occasionally waking up when Mai jumped on my lap, wanting me to play or draw with her. I didn't mind that though, she took my mind off of Lee for once. I awoke for the third time that day and began to stretch out. "How long have I been out?" I asked Temari with a yawn.

"About two hours. Didn't you sleep well?"

"No. Flying makes me tired anyway." There was a dull pain at my heart as I remembered the dreams I had. They were all about Lee and I living our lives together as I had promised him.

She nodded and went back to reading her glossy magazine. Shikamaru was complaining about the length of the flight and the movies being shown. "Why do they always show these ridiculous cartoons on a plane? Not everybody likes watching a crazy fish-child run around chasing after a boy."

I frowned. "Hey, Ponyo is awesome!"

"Not when Mai watches it three times daily" Shikamaru said in a bored tone. "So troublesome."

Kankuro had also woken up. "I prefer horror movies myself."  
"Those are stupid too." He growled. "You always get a useless woman who gets everybody killed by being kidnapped by the baddie! And why does nobody ever turn on the light?"

Temari batted him on the head with her magazine. "Stop whining! You're worse than what my father used to be like! He was a miserable pain in the neck too!"

"Tell me about it." I said bitterly. Of course, I loved my father and it broke my heart when he was murdered but I was never close to him. He didn't seem to have any time for me. Whenever I had problems, or if I was sick or injured, I always went to my brother and sister first, never him.

Shikamaru winced and muttered something under his breath before turning his attention back to his sudoku book which he bought at the airport.

I looked at my phone to check the time. Two hours until we landed. Long flights seemed to last forever, especially when you had a guilty conscience. "Kankuro, where's Kiba?"

"Uh... he went to get some drinks..." My brother sounded slightly worried. He glanced around nervously down the aisle. "Where is he?"

"Probably fucking the air hostess." I said with a smirk.

Temari slapped me with her magazine. "Don't swear in front of my daughter!"

"Sorry."

Kankuro stood up suddenly. "Kiba! Leave those whores alone!" He yelled down the aisle, earning a few glares from the other passengers.

"Kankuro!" Temari screamed, kicking him. "My baby does not want to hear that vulgar language!"

"Ma, what does whore mean?" Mai asked ever so innocently.

Temari smiled sweetly at Kankuro. "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't throw you out of this window right now."

"Because we are family?"

I looked up. "Is that an insult or a compliment?"

Temari growled. "You can shut up too before I throw you out of the window as well!"

Kiba came over with a tray of food and drink in his hands. "Hey, what's going on?"

3

**Lee POV**

A piercing migraine caused me to rouse from my slumber. I groaned and threw my arm over my eyes to block out any light that would threaten to intensify the pain. My room wasn't usually so bright. Did I forget to close the blinds? Wincing, I opened my eyes and rubbed them, then sat up. My head throbbed and I rubbed my forehead, letting out a sigh. This had to be the worst hangover I'd had in a long time.

"Morning." Came a female voice from beside me.

My eyes shot open and I turned slowly, seeing TenTen laying down, the blankets not even covering her naked body. It took me a few moments to realize that this was in fact, _her_ room. "Sweet Gods! Put some clothes on!" I gasped, turning away.

"You were saying the complete opposite last night. What has gotten into you?" She asked.

"Last n-night? What happened?"

She pouted. "Too drunk to remember that you stole my virginity?"

My head spun suddenly and I felt sick, both physically and mentally. Was she lying? I couldn't have slept with her... it was impossible! I loved Gaara- Wait, no. I didn't love him anymore. Not at all. "You a-are l-lying!"

"Lying? Why would I lie?"

"Because I know what you are like!"

She growled and blushed. "You don't know me!"

"Well I must have been absolutely paralletic to sleep with you then!"

Her eyes narrowed. "Are you suggesting that I'm unattractive?"

"Quite frankly, yes." I replied, starting to get dressed. Where were my shoes?

"You were saying I was the sexiest fuck you ever had last night!"

"I was drunk then, I am sober now."

"Get out!" She snarled, shoving me towards the door. "Now!"

"Where are my shoes?"

She picked them up and threw them at my head. It didn't help my migraine at all. "Thanks."

"You're fucking welcome!" The door was slammed in my face.

I rolled my eyes and put my shoes on before walking back home. It was freezing out and frost had already formed on the ground. I unlocked the front door to my house and stepped in, closing it behind me. The house was so empty without Gaara, so quiet and much colder than normal. I almost expected him to come bounding down the stairs at any moment to welcome me home. No such luck. He was in a different country by now, living his life to the full. I sighed and placed my keys on the side table, then turned the thermostat up to warm the room. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a blue flash from the house phone, indicating a new voicemail. I moodily pressed the button for loudspeaker and listened.

"Lee, it's me." Came Gaara's voice. "I landed a few hours ago..." There was an awkward pause. "Phone me as soon as you get this. I left the number in your coat pocket. I miss you like crazy already. It will be nice to hear your voice... That's all I really have to say... I love you so much... Bye..."

The voicemail ended. Why did he phone me? If he was going to break up with me, why did he insist on keeping in contact? Anybody knew it just made it harder to let that person go. I wasn't going to phone him back – it would only make me upset to hear his voice again. I couldn't help but feel guilty about sleeping with TenTen, it was like I'd betrayed Gaara even though we weren't going out anymore.


	9. Reunion

**A/N: This chapter will mostly be in Gaara's POV. I wrote an extra-long chapter, just because I haven't updated this story in God-knows-how-long. Apologies for that. Anyway, enjoy~**

**Face Down**

**Chapter 9**

**Reunion**

**Gaara POV**

Months and months had passed since I had left Konoha and every day got more and more painful. Lee hadn't phoned once. I even sent him a birthday card and a present for his twenty-fourth birthday. Despite the hope within me dwindling down to a flicker every time I thought about him, I phoned him each day without fail to ask him how he was, telling him about my day and eagerly awaiting a response that never came. My birthday passed less than a week ago and I remember just crying on my bed once the day was over because I missed him so much. Nothing seemed to make me smile anymore and I was losing countless nights of sleep because my mind was constantly on him, worrying about him, praying he was all right. I had so much to tell him in person, including that I'd been appointed Kazekage two months ago. The job was tiring, but it was the best thing I could have ever chosen for a career. It even enabled me to live in another country, and that meant I could bring Lee over to Sunagakure to live with me. I couldn't do that though, I couldn't take him away from all his friends. It wasn't fair.

I phoned him again and as usual, it went onto answering machine. I stared blankly out of the window and said nothing for a while. I hadn't anything more left to say to him that hadn't already been said before. "Lee... I know you're there. Please pick up. Just let me know you're alive! I'm worried out of my fucking mind!"

There was no answer.

"Is it so hard for you just to say hi?!" Tears built up in my eyes. "Alright... since you can probably hear this, I want to tell you that this is it. I won't phone you anymore. It's obvious what you said was true, you do hate me. I'm sorry for bothering you. Goodbye Lee." As soon as I put the phone down, I broke down yet again. The more I clung onto him, the more it hurt. I had to let him go. He obviously didn't want to know me anymore, let alone love me. He'd probably found somebody else now anyway. It felt like somebody was crushing my heart every time I thought about him. _He'd_ forgotten _me_, so why couldn't I do the same?

People say love is everything... yeah too fucking right it is, all I knew now was that Lee was gone and I would never talk to him again in my life. This feeling was not new to me, as all my life I had suffer with this emotion of sadness. No one cared about me, and then Lee came into my life and made me feel special, then he ripped my heart out and left me to feel like this!

Just when I thought he wasn't like the rest, it turned out he was. At least he wasn't an abusive bastard like Sasuke, but the emotional pain of him not even talking to me hurt worse than the physical wounds.

The door to my office creaked open and Kankuro walked in. He stared at me for a few moments, and then pulled his chair up beside mine before sitting down. "Why are you crying?" He asked, placing his arm around my shoulders. "Come on, I don't wanna see you upset."

I sniffled and wiped the tears away quickly. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm making this place seem depressing."

He shook his head. "Don't worry, everybody can feel down at some point in their lives. You are human like the rest of us after all."

"I guess." I replied. "But I don't want to feel down anymore... I want to forget him, but I just can't let him go."

"You don't have to let him go. You can always go back and see him in Konoha."

"Oh yeah, like I can afford that Kankuro! I'm the Kazekage, I can't just leave!"

"Then let me take over for a few days! Come on… I'm worried about you - everybody is! Seeing Lee will probably brighten you up a little."

I bit my lip, considering it for a few moments. What if something went wrong and I had to rush back to the village? Kankuro was right though – I needed a break. "Fine. But you'd better contact me if anything goes wrong."

My brother smiled. "Don't worry. I'll take care of everything."

"Thank you."

The flight to Konoha was uneventful, but I couldn't shake away a nervous feeling that had suddenly overcome me. I was anxious about something. Anxious to show my face in Konoha again? Anxious in case I bumped into any member of Sasuke's gang? It was impossible to tell.

The ride was six hours long altogether, so I was glad when we landed. I hated sitting down for long periods, and it wasn't like there was much room on the plane to stretch my legs anyway. Once I disembarked, I called a taxi to take me to Lee's house. There, I knocked on the door and waited. Minutes passed and there was no answer. I peered through the window and saw that the house was dark, but more shockingly, looked like it hadn't been lived in for weeks!

Had he moved house so he wouldn't have to see me again? Even so, I stayed outside the front door, praying that he'd come back. I needed to see him; I needed to know he was okay. Hours passed and it started to rain, but I staying outside his house with my back up against the door.

"Gaara?" Came a familiar voice.

I looked up, seeing Sakura approach me with an umbrella. "What are you doing out in this weather?" She asked, putting the umbrella over my head. It didn't matter. I was soaked to the bone anyway.

"I'm waiting for Lee." I replied.

She gasped slightly. "Oh… you haven't heard then…"

That got my attention. "Heard what?"

"Lee is…" She began, taking a deep breath. "He's in a coma."

My heart sank. "What?! H-How?!"

She placed her hand on my shoulder. "He took a drug overdose a few weeks ago and hasn't woken up since. Gaara… I'm so sorry you didn't know."

Wait, Lee was in a coma? I couldn't believe it – I _wouldn't_ believe it!

Guilt racked my nerves as it suddenly dawned on me that I was the reason he'd taken an overdose in the first place. _I _was the one who had broken his heart; and the thought of him lying helpless, wasting away in a hospital bed drove me insane. It was hard to believe that he'd do something so idiotic, not to mention dangerous. It was my fault; I should have never left him.

"Gaara, I-"

"Forget it." I pushed past her and raced to the hospital as fast as I could. My heart was breaking from the guilt. I rushed into the waiting room, only to be met with a glare from TenTen.

"This is _your_ fault!" She hissed. "You caused him so much pain that he wanted to end his own life!"

"I-I didn't-"

"You know what Gaara? Get out of this place! Nobody wants you here; we all know what you did to Lee!"

There was a crushing pain in my chest. "Please, I just want to see him!"  
"No! Stay away from us! I don't care if you're the Kazekage - get out before I kill you!"

A familiar voice resounded from behind me. "TenTen, stop!"

I turned to see Naruto staring at us both, a concerned expression on his face. Sakura hurried in behind him and put her umbrella down.

"How can you say that Naruto?!" TenTen snarled. "If it weren't for him, Lee would be okay!"

Naruto glared at her and came to my side defensively. "Well if you remember, what Lee did was part of how you treated him too! Remember when you fucked him? He couldn't live with the guilt because he was still in love with Gaara!"

She opened her mouth to say something, but no sound came out. With one last glare to me, the brunette turned on her heel and stormed out furiously.

Meanwhile, my head was spinning. Lee had slept with her? Not that I felt betrayed; I mean, he had every right to sleep with someone after I broke up with him. We weren't an item anymore. It wasn't betrayal.

"Don't cry." Naruto said gently, wiping my tear away with his thumb.

Why was I crying? I had no reason to cry apart from the fact that Lee was fighting for his life. "I-I'm not crying… I have something in my eye."

He shot me a look of disbelief.

"I… I just want to see Lee." I muttered.

Naruto turned and looked back at Sakura, who nodded and gently touched my arm. "Come on." She said brightly. "I'll take you to see him."

I nodded and let her led me to Lee's room. The sight of him broke my heart within an instant.

He had IV drips plugged into his arms and breathing tubes shoved down his throat. His skin was so pale in contrast to the dark and reddened circles around his eyes - eyes that had been rubbed raw from excessive crying. The only thing reassuring me that he was still alive was the rhythmical beeping of the heart monitor in the corner of the room.

"Lee…" I whispered, rushing to his side and holding his hand. The skin was ice cold. "It's alright, I'm here now…" I soothed.

Sakura stood awkwardly in the doorway. "He can hear you, just keep talking to him and he might wake up."

"Might?"

"Well." She shifted uncomfortably. "There is a thirty per-cent chance that he'll never regain consciousness."

My heart felt like it stopped.

"I'm sorry. If you talk to him though, it's more likely that he'll wake up. Call me if you need anything." She rubbed my back for a moment before leaving.

Once I was sure her presence had left, I broke down, clutching Lee like a lifeline. "Wake up! Please Lee!" I sobbed. "I can't live without you!"

Lee remained motionless apart from the steady rise and fall of his chest. He was cold… so cold, it felt like I had already lost him. That loving warmth wasn't there anymore, the happy man I once knew was gone. As I lay my head on his chest, listening to that soothing heartbeat, I started to wonder to myself what I'd do if he did actually die. Could I live with myself? It didn't seem so – not with the guilt consuming every inch of my soul knowing that he did this because of _me_. It would always be there, that small part of me calling me a murderer for driving Lee to his death. I'd have to end my life too, just so I could be with him one eternity more and tell him how sorry I was.

I didn't realize I'd fallen asleep until I heard the brisk whoosh of a pair of curtains being opened. It was early morning judging by the unusual quietness of hospital life.

A nurse I didn't recognise came over to me. "Beautiful morning isn't it?" She smiled. "Maybe you should take a walk and clear your head."

I ignored her suggestion. "Is Lee alright?"

She nodded. "He seems to be doing better than yesterday. His breathing isn't so laboured and his heart rate has finally slowed down."

"That's brilliant." There was still hope.

The nurse nodded and left.

I sighed in relief and gently rubbed Lee's hand, finding it a lot warmer than yesterday. He looked a little better, but it was obvious that he was still quite sick. "I'm here Lee… I promise I won't leave until you wake up."

He didn't stir.

"Remember at the hospital when I told you I'd always love you? I really meant it. You are the best thing that ever happened to me. You saved my life. If it weren't for you, I would definitely be dead by now."

Silence.

"When you wake up, I'm going to make some arrangements for us to live together again. We'll get married, have a perfect family and a big house, I'll give you as many children as you want, and we'll raise them to be the smartest, most successful people on Earth." I told him softly. "I know you really want a daughter, so I'll let you name our first daughter. I know you'll be a great father and husband. You're brilliant with Mai, and nobody has ever shown me kindness as you have. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Please forgive me for breaking your heart. I never wanted to cause you this much hurt, and it's not like you to even think about suicide. I didn't know you had it in you to attempt such a thing. Life will be better, I promise, but I need you to come back to me… I need you to make my life complete, because I can never imagine myself with anybody but you. Please, I don't want to die lonely, and you don't deserve to leave this place now. You need to stay here and make your friends happy. They're lost without you, I'm lost without you. Just… come back…" I felt the same crushing pain in my chest and curled up over his almost motionless body, silent sobs shaking my body. "I l-love you… so m-much…"

"You really are suited to your job after such a speech." Came a weak voice.

I looked up, seeing Lee blinking at me through tired, bloodshot eyes.

Relief washed over me as I hugged him tight, burying my face into his shoulder. He was warm again, he was real. My Lee was back with me.

I inhaled his spicy scent and blushed slightly. "You… heard everything I said?"

He nodded, pushing me away. "And you meant every word?"

"Of course I did!" I hugged him again. "I love you so much."

He smiled. "Ironic. Guess I never really got over you either."

"Really?" I asked. "I thought you never wanted to see me again. You made it quite clear."

"I regret that, but I don't think I can be with you again."

"Why not?!" I demanded.

"Well… I'm scared to lose you again. It hurt so much when you left me."

"Lee, I need you to hear me out, okay? I want to explain to you why I left."

"You told me it was because Madara is after you."

"That's right. Have I ever told you about him?"

Lee shook his head.

"Well, he's Sasuke's uncle, and he's also the ring leader of the most dangerous gang known to mankind. They call themselves 'The Akatsuki' and the group consists biggest drug dealers, hitmen and homicidal murderers in the entire world." I spoke quietly, just in case anybody was eavesdropping. "Madara used to work as a master of torture for the police, he could make any criminal leak out any vital information he needed. After a while though, he became bored and decided to wreak havoc by breaking open the prisons and killing any nearby police officers. That's when he formed the gang."

"I've heard about The Akatsuki." Lee said softly. "Who are the members? Did you meet any?"

"Yeah, the 'immortal' pair, Hidan and Kakuzu. They are so powerful that you can't even get near them in a fight. There's also Konan - the only female member, and her boyfriend Pein. Sasuke's older brother, Itachi is also a member with his partner, Kisame. There are a few others too like Zetsu, Tobi… and Deidara. I got into a fight with Deidara before and I was out cold for three days."

"Wow."

"Sasori is also a member. He comes from Suna, so I know him pretty well. His grandmother saved my life after Deidara hurt me."

Lee sighed. "I've heard about all of them on the news. They're crazy."

"You don't say." I replied with a sigh. "Now do you see why I had to leave? I couldn't put you in danger, and I couldn't put myself in danger."

"Well what are you doing here now?!"  
Why do you think, idiot? I came to make sure you weren't dead! You never answered my calls, you never replied to my letters or emails. What the hell was I supposed to do?"

He looked at the floor. "I am sorry."

"I've been worried sick, Lee! I haven't been able to sleep; I haven't been able to eat!"

"Well if it's any consolation, I listened to your voice mails."

"Brilliant." I said sarcastically. "That makes me feel much better."

He sighed and leaned over to me weakly. "Look, I'm sorry."

"Just don't scare me like that again – and don't do anything stupid."

"I won't. I'm sorry for worrying you."

"Worrying is an understatement. But I don't care, I'm just glad you're alright." I smiled and hugged him tightly again, glad to feel him hug me back this time.

"I missed you so much." He whispered, pulling back for a moment so he could press his lips to mine. I kissed back lovingly, having missed those lips so much.

After a week of him being in intensive care, Lee was allowed home, but he told me that he wouldn't be there for long.

"Why?" I asked after he'd told me. We had just arrived back at his house and I was helping him to clean up.

"I want to come and live with you in Suna." He replied simply.

"What?"

He turned to me and frowned. "I thought you'd be happy if I told you that."

"I am… really…"

"You do not look it, Gaara-kun."

I leaned back against the kitchen counter. "Well, I'll ask the same question again; why? Why would you want to move away from everybody you love just to be with me?"

Lee rolled his eyes and gripped my shoulder. "Gaara, I love _you_ - nobody else, just you."

"What about your foster father? And Neji… and TenTen…" I trailed off, suddenly remembering what Naruto said – Lee had slept with her.

I noticed him wince when I said TenTen's name. "I want to be with you Gaara, and if that means moving away from them, I will do it gladly."

"Won't you miss them?" I murmured, keeping my gaze fixed to the floor.

"Not really. I will make new friends, and I can still come and visit when I have the money, right?"

I nodded. "Well, if it's what you really want."

"It is." He walked over to the phone on the kitchen wall. "I will tell the landlady that I am selling immediately."

"All right."

Within a few hours, Lee was ready to leave. I'd helped him pack his belongings. He'd only left a few unwanted things behind. It was too late in the night to catch the plane now, so I booked one for the morning. Lee needed to rest anyway. Besides, there was one last thing I wanted to do before I left permanently – or at least until Madara was dead. "Lee, I'm going out for a bit." I said.

He looked at me suspiciously through sleepy eyes. "It is not safe."

"I'll be fine, I promise."

"Where are you going?"

"I need to give something to Naruto before I leave." I lied. "See you later."

He nodded, still looking a little unsure. "Just be safe."

I nodded and left Lee's house, heading straight for the Konoha City jail. Once inside, I started looking around for the dungeons where the prisoners were held.

A chubby officer approached me once I neared a certain door. "Visiting times are over. Come back tomorrow morning at nine." He said.

I held up an ID card, showing them I was the Kazekage so he would give me permission to enter.

"I'm terribly sorry Kazekage-sama. Who is it you'd like to visit today?" The officer questioned after reading the ID card.

"Uchiha Sasuke." I replied.

"Very well." He smirked and opened the door, leading me down a dimly lit corridor. It got narrower the deeper we went until we had to walk single file. We finally reached the cells and I looked around, starting to get a little apprehensive. The prisoners grinned evilly, reaching through the bars and trying to grab me. We finally reached a cell near the end of the row. "I will need to stay with you in case your life is threatened." The officer told me. I nodded and stepped up to the bars, seeing Sasuke sitting on a bed with his head down.

"Uchiha Sasuke, you have a visitor."

Sasuke immediately looked up, smirking as he saw me. "We meet again, Gaara." He looked unwell to say the least; his clothes were torn and bloodstained, his charcoal orbs bloodshot and holding dark rings around them, which contrasted, sharply with his sickly pale skin. It looked like he'd been tortured. "You'd better run." He hissed sharply. "Because I'll kill you once I get out of here!"

"You won't even know where I am!" I snarled back.

"My sentence is seven years, Gaara. That leaves me plenty of time to hunt you down." He suddenly started coughing violently.

I winced. "Are you sick?"

"What do you care?"

"Well if you are, I hope it fucking kills you."

He laughed lightly and walked over to the bars, pressing himself as close as he could to me. "Oh, if I die here, I'll curse you beyond the grave and become your personal poltergeist!"

The officer pulled me back slightly to protect me, before jabbing Sasuke in the chest with a stick. "That's enough, Uchiha."

He fell back and coughed up blood. By the sounds of it, he had pneumonia or something. "Why are you even here, Gaara?" He asked after finishing his choking fit.

"I wanted to say goodbye, because after today, you'll never see me again. I've moved on from you, and I'm starting again somewhere new."

"I'll still find you." He growled. "Mark my words."

"If you say so. I'm never going to think about you again, I'm never going to let the events of the past hurt me in my new life. In my mind, you never existed." And with that, I turned to the guard, letting him lead me back out. Just I was about to step out of the dungeons, I saw a tall man with long, spiky black hair. His eyes were cold and unnerving, his dress code somewhat gothic.

Madara.

I slipped behind the door just before he turned his body and headed straight for me. My breath hitched in my throat as his slender, calloused hand gripped the door, whilst the other held a phone to his ear. "Itachi, don't give me that bullshit!" He growled impatiently, his voice deep and menacing. "Are you sure you've checked the old house?" There was a pause. "Well search it again! He's here somewhere, I know it! I won't let him get away with this."

Were they talking about me?

"You're fucking useless!" He spat. "I'm going to see Sasuke now, and then I'll look for Gaara myself since you're so incapable!" Madara then started to walk down the corridor, kicking the door shut as he left. I prayed he didn't turn around and see me, or I'd be done for. Once he was out of sight, I opened the door as quietly as I could and slipped out of the dungeons. Then, what Madara said started to sink in. He was still after me, and I knew I had to get out of the country again, this time with Lee of course.

Once I got back to the house, I hurriedly awoke said person from his slumber. "Lee!"

"What is it?" He asked tiredly, throwing his forearm over his eyes.

"I saw Madara! We need to catch the plane tonight!"

My lover sat up suddenly and started pulling on his clothes. "Book a taxi to take us to the airport!"

I nodded and ordered a taxi, then started gathering Lee's bags together. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault; I just want you to be safe."

A few minutes later, we heard a car honk its horn, signalling the taxi had arrived. Lee took the bags off me and began to pile them into the trunk.

"Where to?" The driver asked.

"Konoha International Airport please – and hurry."

Lee got in next to me, and immediately, the car started to drive. The airport was right over the other side of the country, so the drive was long – an hour to be exact.

The further away Konoha was, the more relieved I felt. Madara had no idea where I was now, and in a mere few hours' time, I'd be safe in Suna with the one I loved the most.

I made sure to order a first-class jet before we arrived at the airport, just so Lee and I could get some much-needed rest without having to listen to the chaos of a usual bustling flight.

Lee POV

It was around ten o clock by the time we finally boarded the plane, and the airhostess gave us a bottle of champagne to share during the course of the flight. During three hours of the flight, we finished the whole bottle between us, but it seemed like Gaara had forgotten what I was like when I consumed alcohol; horny was the best way of describing it.

Smiling, I looked over to my red-haired lover. His dark-ringed eyes were closed, his breathing slow and steady. He was on the verge of sleep.

Not for long.

I pressed my lips against the soft flesh of his neck, earning a light moan in response. "Mmh… what?" Gaara mumbled sleepily, not opening his eyes.

I didn't answer and my hand traced over his body slowly, before coming to rest on the button of his black jeans; those sexy, tight black jeans that showed off the curvature of his ass and the medium-sized bulge at his crotch. He didn't pay much attention to that either. "Go to sleep Lee."

I responded by slipping his hand under the waistline of his pants and into his underwear. This time, his eyes snapped open and his cheeks flushed a delicate pink. He opened his mouth to say something, but I silenced him with a passionate kiss.

I had forgotten his wonderful taste after such a long time apart, and it made me realize how much I'd been yearning for him. He tasted just how I remembered: sweet with a hint of spice; like strawberries and cinnamon.

Gaara moaned against my lips and a moment later, we pulled away, both gasping for breath. How long we had kissed for, I didn't know, but it felt like the world had stopped turning. I stared into his eyes for what seemed like a lifetime, captivated by that pale ocean blue colour I'd missed for so long. My hand massaged his inner thigh through his tight black jeans, before sliding further up to caress his impending erection.

He gasped lightly, his black-ringed eyes closing yet again – this time from pleasure. His reactions caused my own pants to become tight, and I decided to take things to the next level by unbuttoning his jeans. His breath hitched in his throat as I did so, and his grip on my shoulders tightened.

"It's alright." I whispered. "You'll be fine."

Gaara then started to relax once more, allowing me to go on.

I reached into his black boxers, taking hold of the warm fleshy bulge hidden inside before beginning to massage it.

Gaara mewled quietly. "L-Lee…"

I pressed my index finger against the now throbbing head, causing him to gasp, his cheeks now turning a more vibrant pink. His manhood became hotter in the grip of my right hand, and it wasn't very soft and fleshy anymore. The head was now becoming slightly lubricated with precum, and the liquid coated the palm of my left hand as I continued to tease him. "Do I really turn you on that much?" I purred into his ear, drawing circles on his sensitive tip.

"F-fuck, Lee!" His back arched and his hips rose off the seat.

"You did not answer my question." My finger pressed into the slit. I knew that would drive him crazy.

"Yes! Oh God, yes!" He gasped, the pleasure rendering him incoherent.

"Interesting." I moved my hand away from his flaccid cock, just to tease him a little longer.

He let out a distressed whine in response. "No, y-you can't!" Came his desperate wail. "I'm s-so hard, so fucking hard!"

"Good things come to those who wait." I whispered, starting to unbutton my own dark green cargo pants. It was a relief to have the tight pressure eased off my erection, but Gaara decided to take things into his own hands, or rather, _mouth_.

His hot, wet cavern engulfed my cock, and I moaned loudly, beginning to thrust gently into his mouth. My hands fisted in his hair as he deep-throated me. Pleasure shot up my spine in huge, intense waves. Fuck, why was he so damn good with his mouth?

His tongue slid over the tip, which continuously leaked precum into his mouth. He lapped it up, dipping his tongue into the slit. "Gaara!" I yelped, arching my back and grinding my erection deep into his mouth. My climax was fast approaching, but Gaara was already pulling away.

"Revenge is sweet." He purred into my ear, shifting his body so that he was straddling my hips. I wrapped my arms around his small waist and began to kiss his neck again, grinding my hips against his. We both gasped in pleasure. This was it – the moment I'd been waiting for. I was finally going to make love to him.

"Baby," I began. "Are you sure you want this?"

Gaara nodded eagerly. "There's nothing that I want more right now." He nuzzled my cheek before burying his face in the crook of my neck, and wrapping his slender legs around my muscular waist. I sat cross-legged so that he was nested comfortably in my lap. I then hooked my thumbs in the belt loops of his jeans before pulling them down to his ankles. His naked lower half pressed against mine enticingly, and we both flushed.

"Do you have any-" I began.

"In my bag." Gaara finished.

I nodded reaching for his bag and beginning to look through it. Inside was his cell phone, a packet of spearmint gum, a passport, a wallet, and – "Found it." I muttered, pulling out a small, unopened bottle of strawberry-scented lube. Turning my attention back to Gaara, I unscrewed the lid and squirted the clear, sticky substance onto my index finger. Then, I positioned my hand underneath him and prodded at his entrance.

Immediately, he tensed.

"Just relax." I told him gently. "I'm only going to stretch you."

"Stretch me?" Gaara repeated.

Fuck, Sasuke used to take him dry without stretching? Sick bastard. "It's to make you more comfortable, you know, to stop it from hurting and bleeding."

"Oh."

I pressed my finger at his entrance once more, this time, able to slide right in. His hot, velvety walls tightened around my finger once more, then relaxed after a few seconds. I began to thrust the digit in and out slowly, before pressing at his walls to find his prostate.

My search ended a few seconds later when he tensed again, letting out a small cry of pleasure. His erection – which was pressed against my navel suddenly began leaking precum again. After the sudden waves of pleasure had worn off, he panted lightly onto my shoulder. "Do that again!"

I complied, jabbing at his sweet spot once more, an erotic moan erupting from his throat.

Once I felt he was stretched enough, I inserted a second finger.

He gasped lightly, then I suddenly forced my fingers deep inside of him, thrusting them against his prostate repeatedly. His moans became louder, and I was convinced that the people in the next compartment could hear us. I didn't care though. They couldn't kick us off the plane mid-flight could they?

I continued to stretch Gaara, inserting a third finger, then finally a fourth. When I was sure he was ready, I pulled out of him and began to lube my erection up.

Gaara held onto me tighter, trembling slightly from lust. "Please fuck me!" He begged.

I captured his sweet lips in a loving kiss. "Are you sure you're ready? It's going to hurt a little."

He nodded fervently, leaning forward and resting his forehead on my shoulder. My erection pressed at his entrance, and I took a moment to position myself properly before sheathing myself fully inside of him.

As much as I wanted to fuck him hard and deep, I held myself back to give him a chance to adjust to my size. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt him.

He panted lightly from the pain, tensing up. His walls tightened around me, sending waves of pleasure racing up my spine. "A-Are you alright baby?" I asked shakily.

"Yes." Came his stiff reply." Move."

I nodded and forced myself deeper inside of him, my eyes practically rolling back in my head from pleasure. He was so damn tight!

Luckily, he began to adjust to my size, and his whimpers and cries of pain soon turned into erotic moans of pleasure. The sounds he was making only turned me on further, and I quickened my pace, pounding hard against his prostate. He tightened around me with each wave of pleasure, the friction of my length rubbing vigorously at his walls sending heat and a hot tingly sensation shooting through my groin. "A-ah!~" I groaned, pressing my lips against his. He cried out in pleasure against my mouth. I could practically feel his heart hammering against mine, the rhythm getting faster and faster as he reached orgasm. Finally, his backed arched suddenly and his grip on me tightened. His mouth opened in a silent scream as he came all over our stomachs. He became tense as he rode out each moment of his orgasm. The feeling of his body tightening around my erection also forced me over the edge. I released my seed deep inside of him and groaned softly, collapsing back against my seat and panting heavily.

Neither of us said anything for a while, both too occupied with getting our breaths back. An hour later, and I was beginning to feel drowsy from the champagne I had consumed. Gaara was already fast asleep, snuggled up in my green hoodie - and this time, I decided to leave him be.

**A/N: ****Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I switched to Lee's POV at the end mainly because I suck terribly at writing as uke =w=UU There will be a couple of timeskip scenes planned for Chapter 10, and I'm sad to say that this fanfic is almost done. There will probably only be a couple of more chapters left.**


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